Chapter 6: The Web Tightens
Julian gripped the small metal drive until the edges dug into his skin. The cold finality of the revelation settled into his bones. His brother wasn’t just a greedy heir trying to seize an inheritance—he was a calculated, cold-blooded murderer.
"Why didn't you go to the state police, Elena?" Julian asked, his voice low and steady.
"Because the local precinct is in the pocket of the harbor development syndicate," Elena said, her voice trembling. "The men Vincent owes money to... they run this whole district. If I went to the authorities, I would have ended up floating in the bay."
"They won't touch you now," Julian said. "Pack a bag and leave town for seventy-two hours. Go to my father's old cabin in the Adirondacks. Take the back roads." He wrote down the coordinates on a scrap of paper and handed her an envelope containing five thousand dollars in emergency cash from his private stash.
"What are you going to do, Julian?" Elena asked, looking at him with genuine fear. "You can't fight them alone. You're legally blind, and Vincent has power of attorney ready to execute."
"He thinks he's playing chess against a man in the dark," Julian replied, putting his dark sunglasses back on and unfolding his cane with a sharp *snap*. "That is his only mistake."
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Julian returned to the estate an hour before Dr. Keller’s scheduled arrival. He took his place in the garden pavilion, sitting motionless in the wicker chair, pretending to listen to the wind rustling the dead leaves.
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