Chapter 4 - Echoes in the Wall
The service shaft dropped vertically between the second and third floors, lined with thick insulation that muffled the sound of her movements. Chloe lowered herself carefully, her sneakers finding purchase on the old wooden crossbeams meant to support the plumbing lines. Dust motes danced in the slivers of light leaking through hairline cracks in the plasterboards.
As she descended past the second-floor guest suite—the room where Victoria had stayed before the wedding—she heard muffled voices bleeding through the wall. She froze, pressing her ear against the thin drywall separating her from the guest bedroom.
"...transfer goes through tomorrow, Richard. Once the primary accounts are consolidated, there won't be any legal footing left for her sister to contest the estate," Victoria’s voice purred, carrying an unmistakable edge of triumph.
Chloe held her breath, straining to hear her father’s response.
"I still don't like doing this behind Sarah’s back," Richard replied, his voice sounding uncharacteristically weary and hesitant. "Sarah is the executor of the trust. If she audits the ledger, she’s going to notice the missing real estate holdings."
"Sarah is grieving in Boston, wrapped up in her own life," Victoria snapped back, the sweet facade dropping entirely. "And by the time she looks closely, everything will be legally transferred under my corporate umbrella. You want this company to survive the merger, don't you? My investors are the only reason your debts are cleared."
Chloe’s hands shook against the rough wooden beam. Debt? Her father’s firm was a multi-million-dollar tech enterprise. Her mother had built it from the ground up. How could there be debts?
"Just... make sure Chloe stays out of the way," Richard sighed, a sound of absolute defeat that broke something fragile inside Chloe’s chest. "She’s so much like her mother. Stubborn. Observant."
"Don't worry about the girl," Victoria murmured, her voice turning icy. "By tomorrow night, she won't be a problem for either of us. I’ve already arranged her enrollment in that boarding school upstate. The one with no outgoing communication policies."
A wave of cold dread washed over Chloe. They weren't just locking her out of the house; they were erasing her entirely, packing her away where she could never ask questions about her mother’s sudden death, the missing money, or the strange documents Victoria was forcing her father to sign.
She had to get out of the shaft. She had to find the physical safe in her father’s downstairs study where her mother kept the original paper deeds to the house—deeds that stated the property could never be sold or transferred without Chloe’s direct signature as the primary heir.
Chloe resumed her descent, sliding her hands along the dusty beams until she reached the basement level, where the service shaft opened up near the old utility room. She pushed gently against the wooden slat at the bottom, slipping out into the cool, dim expanse of the mansion’s lower level.
The basement was quiet, lit only by the orange glow of the water heater. She crept toward the heavy oak door leading up to the main hallway, her hand reaching for the brass handle.
May you like
Before her fingers could wrap around the metal, the heavy deadbolt on the other side turned with a loud, mechanical clunk.
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