Chapter 12 - A Federal Interruption
Agent Vance sighed, lowering his badge and hooking his thumb casually into his belt. "Tell your girlfriend to stand down, Clara. Unless she wants obstruction of justice added to her permanent record."
Clara hurried up the wooden staircase, emerging into the dim light of the upper hallway just as Elena reached the top of the cellar steps. Elena dropped the iron pipe with a loud clatter the moment she saw Clara, launching herself forward and throwing her arms around Clara’s neck. She buried her face into the thick wool of Clara’s green cardigan, sobbing with sheer relief.
"I thought you were dead," Elena whispered fiercely, her grip trembling. "I saw the smoke, I heard the crash... I thought you were gone."
"I'm here," Clara murmured, holding Elena tightly for a long moment, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo amidst the lingering stench of smoke and ash. "I'm right here. We're going to be okay."
"Not quite," Agent Vance interrupted, stepping up the stairs behind them with a pair of cold steel handcuffs glistening in his hand. He looked at Elena first, then fixed his sharp gaze on Clara. "Miss Vance, you are under arrest for corporate espionage, destruction of federal evidence, and aiding in the concealment of classified Cold War assets."
Elena pulled back instantly from the embrace, staring at the federal agent in sheer disbelief. She looked at Clara, her eyes wide with a mixture of betrayal and heartbreak. "What is he talking about, Clara? What did you just say?"
"It's a misunderstanding," Clara lied weakly, though the exhaustion etched into every line of her face made the lie fall completely flat. She refused to meet Elena’s eyes.
"There's no misunderstanding, Miss Hayes," Agent Vance said politely, addressing Elena directly. "Your partner has been sitting on a multi-million-dollar black-ops slush fund for the past six years. Every dollar you've spent, every piece of property you've shared—it was all financed by stolen government secrets."
Elena stepped back, her hands flying to her mouth. She shook her head slowly, backing away down the hallway toward the front door. "No. No, this isn't real. You told me you inherited this house legitimately, Clara. You said it was just an old family home."
"I had to," Clara pleaded, taking a step toward her. "If I told you the truth, Arthur would have killed you just like he killed my grandfather."
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Before Elena could respond, a sudden, deafening explosion shook the entire foundation of the house, knocking all three of them off balance and plunging the hallway into absolute darkness.
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