Chapter 9: Midnight in the Study
The clock in the grand hallway chimed 1:00 AM. The Sterling estate was completely shrouded in darkness, save for the pale moonlight cutting through the tall windows. Clara moved like a ghost through the silent corridors, wearing soft-soled slippers that made no sound against the polished parquet floors. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs, but her hands were steady as she navigated the familiar twists and turns toward the master study on the second floor.
Marcus had left the service door to the east wing unlocked, providing a narrow window of opportunity while the night patrol guards made their hourly rotation around the perimeter grounds. Clara slipped inside the study, closing the heavy oak door softly behind her. The room smelled of expensive cologne, old paper, and leather. She crossed the room in the dark, relying on muscle memory rather than light, until she reached the heavy oil painting of Victoria’s grandfather hanging above the marble fireplace.
Reaching up, she swung the heavy gold-framed portrait outward on its hidden hinges, revealing a heavy digital wall safe embedded in the reinforced concrete. According to Marcus, the access code was stored on the master tablet resting on the executive desk across the room. Clara hurried to the desk, pressing the power button on the tablet. The screen flared to life with a bright, blinding white glow that illuminated her face in the dark room. She cursed softly under her breath, quickly dimming the brightness before searching through the file directory.
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There it was—a secure folder labeled *Sterling Trust & Surrogacy Addendums*. Clara tapped it, but a numeric password prompt immediately blocked her progress. Panic surged in her chest. She hadn’t anticipated a secondary password. She frantically tried her own birthdate, Leo’s birthdate, and even Victoria’s wedding anniversary, but each attempt resulted in a harsh red error flash.
Just as despair threatened to paralyze her, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the study door. Someone was coming. Clara froze, her breath catching in her throat as the brass handle began to turn slowly. With nowhere to hide in the open expanse of the room, she lunged toward the heavy velvet drapes covering the floor-to-ceiling windows, slipping behind them just as the door swung open and a beam of flashlight cut across the dark room.
