Chapter 6
The birthday balloons fluttered mockingly in the draft as David stood in the center of the ruined living room, looking entirely at ease amidst the wreckage of his own family's history. Aunt Martha dropped the throw pillow she had been clutching, her jaw hanging open in sheer disbelief.
"David, have you lost your mind?" Martha shouted, her voice finally breaking through the heavy paralysis that had gripped the room. "This is our childhood home! Mom and Dad built these walls with their own hands!"
David didn't even flinch at his sister's outburst. He simply shrugged, a dismissive gesture that made Laura's blood boil with a rage hotter and more destructive than anything she had felt all evening.
"Sentimental garbage, Martha," David said smoothly, walking toward the kitchen counter as if he owned the place—which, legally speaking, he now apparently did. "Mom and Dad left us a pile of moldy lumber and insurmountable property taxes. Viktor offered me a clean break and a ticket out of this dead-end town. Anyone with half a brain would have taken the deal."
Viktor stood silently by the door, watching the family drama unfold with the detached amusement of a spectator at a theater. His men remained planted outside, blocking the only visible exit from the house.
Laura felt a strange, cold calm wash over her. The frantic panic that had made her swing the wooden stick at the birthday cake was gone, replaced by a razor-sharp focus. She looked at David, really looked at him—the expensive watch on his wrist, the tailored cuffs of his shirt, items purchased with the blood and sweat of her own labor and their parents' sacrifices.
"You didn't just sell the house," Laura said, her voice terrifyingly quiet as she stepped slowly toward her brother. "You set Iris up. You put that safety deposit box key in her backpack so the blame would fall on her if things went sideways."
David paused, a flicker of genuine irritation crossing his handsome face before he smoothed it over with a practiced grin.
"Iris is resilient," David dismissed with a wave of his hand. "She needed to learn early that loyalty to family only gets you crushed under the wheels of reality. Besides, she was the only one who wouldn't immediately suspect me."
From the hallway, Iris let out a ragged gasp. She pushed herself up from the floor, her dark jeans stained with dust and her bruised arm trembling violently. The fear in her eyes was entirely gone, replaced by a burning, incandescent fury that mirrored her mother's.
"You lied to me," Iris whispered, her voice shaking with raw emotion. "You told me those men were going to hurt Mom if I didn't hold onto that key for a few days. You used me as a shield."
"I protected you from the messy reality, kiddo," David said patronizingly, holding out a hand toward his niece. "Now be a good girl and grab your jacket. Viktor's driver is going to take you and your mother over to the motel on Route 9. I've already paid for a room for the night."
Laura stepped directly into David's path, blocking his reach toward Iris. She didn't need the wooden stick anymore; her eyes alone were weapons sharp enough to draw blood.
"We aren't going anywhere with you," Laura said, her voice dropping to a low, venomous hiss. "And you aren't leaving this house until I get answers about what else you stole."
David sighed dramatically, shaking his head as if dealing with a pair of unruly toddlers. He glanced over his shoulder at Viktor.
"See what I mean, Viktor? Absolutely impossible to reason with. I think it's time we expedited the eviction process."
Viktor nodded once, giving a subtle hand signal to the two massive guards waiting on the porch. They stepped across the threshold, their heavy boots crushing the remaining pieces of blue-frosted cake into the hardwood floor.
Before the guards could reach them, Iris reached behind her back and pulled something out of her waistband, holding it up so everyone in the room could see.
May you like
It was David's personal laptop, its screen still glowing with an open spreadsheet detailing the illegal land transfer and the exact bank accounts where the syndicate had deposited his bribe.
"Too bad," Iris said, her voice steady and chillingly calm. "I didn't just keep the key. I copied the hard drive before you even knew I was in your office."
