Chapter 4 - Shadows On The Hardwood
The front door of the Vance household creaked open, the brass hinges screaming in protest against the heavy silence inside. Clara stood in the foyer, her black dress now dry but still smelling faintly of damp grass and crushed lilies. Richard stepped in behind her, slamming the front door shut with a muffled thud that echoed down the long, mahogany-paneled hallway.
“She’s bluffing,” Richard whispered, though his eyes darted nervously toward the heavy oak door of Arthur’s downstairs study. “She has to be. Arthur was senile at the end. Anything he signed last week wouldn’t hold up in probate for ten minutes.”
“She had the key, Richard,” Clara said, her voice trembling as she untied the damp sash of her dress. “You saw her face. She knows about the ledger.”
They walked into the study, a dimly lit room lined with leather-bound books and heavy velvet drapes that blocked out the late afternoon sun. The floor safe in the corner stood slightly ajar, its heavy steel door unlocked. Someone had already been through it.
Clara dropped to her knees before the safe, pulling out a stack of manila folders. She flipped them open rapidly, her breathing growing shallow as she realized the most important document—a signed financial agreement dated two weeks prior—was completely missing.
“It’s gone,” Clara breathed, looking up at Richard with sheer panic in her eyes. “She took the transfer papers. If the police or the bank sees those, we’re finished.”
Richard cursed under his breath, pacing the Persian rug. He pulled out his phone again, dialing a number he had memorized years ago. It rang four times before a gruff voice answered on the other end.
“We have a problem,” Richard said into the receiver. “Evelyn found the second will, and she’s got the transfer records. We need to intercept her before she reaches the bank tomorrow morning.”
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Clara stood up slowly, her gaze drifting toward the window that overlooked the driveway. Parked near the curb was an unmarked sedan she hadn’t noticed before, its engine idling quietly in the dusk.
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