Chapter 11 - The Second-Floor Shadow
"Lily! Get away from the glass!" Elena screamed, struggling against the private security guard who gripped her arm with bruising force.
"Shut your mouth and keep moving toward the cabana," the guard muttered, shoving her forward across the damp patio tiles toward the outdoor seating area.
Viktor walked calmly ahead of them, his polished leather shoes clicking rhythmically against the stone paving. "Your daughter is perfectly safe for the moment, Elena, provided you cooperate with our little arrangement tonight."
"You are monsters, both you and Liam," Elena spat, refusing to lower her chin as they forced her and Arthur into the sheltered cabana.
Arthur glared at Viktor across the mahogany table where the antique jewelry box had been placed. "What do you want, Viktor? You have the estate, you have the safe contents—what more could you possibly steal from us?"
Viktor poured himself a glass of water from a crystal pitcher on the table, taking a slow, deliberate sip before answering. "I don't want your money anymore, Arthur. I want control of Vance Industries. And you are going to sign the complete corporate transfer documents right now."
"I will see you rotting in a federal prison before I sign over a single share of my company to a criminal," Arthur replied steadily.
Viktor smiled coldly, tapping a small remote control in his coat pocket. Instantly, the exterior lights surrounding the pool flickered and died, plunging the entire courtyard into pitch-black darkness, save for the faint moonlight filtering through the cabana roof.
"Think very carefully about your answer, Arthur," Viktor said softly. "Because upstairs in the nursery, the window lock has been disabled, and the night breeze is getting dangerously strong for a four-year-old child."
Elena's heart skipped a beat as the horrific implications of his words sank in. "You wouldn't... she's your own granddaughter's cousin... she's innocent in all of this!"
"Liam was supposed to inherit everything through marriage, but your father's stubborn interference ruined that plan," Viktor replied coldly, sliding a thick stack of legal documents across the table along with a gold-plated fountain pen.
Arthur looked at the contract, his hands trembling slightly as he realized the impossible choice he was being forced to make—sign away his life's work, or risk losing his beloved granddaughter.
"Sign it, Dad, please just sign it," Elena pleaded, tears streaming freely down her cheeks as she gripped the edge of the mahogany table.
Arthur picked up the heavy gold-plated pen, his hand hovering over the signature line as the distant sound of police sirens grew fainter in the midnight air.
May you like
Just as the pen touched the paper, the cabana door was kicked violently open from the outside, shattering the wooden frame into splinters.
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