Chapter 11
The warmth of the massive stone fireplace inside Marcus’s workshop hit Leo like a physical wave, causing an immediate, painful tingling sensation in his frozen feet and hands as blood circulation began to restore itself. Marcus wrapped Leo in multiple layers of thick woolen blankets, setting a steaming mug of hot cocoa infused with honey directly into his trembling hands. Buster lay stretched out right in front of the hearth, his dark coat steaming slightly as the melting snow evaporated into the warm air, letting out deep, contented sighs of relief. Marcus sat across from them on an old wooden stool, his weathered hands clasped tightly as he listened to Leo’s halting, breathless account of Evelyn’s locked cellar, the hidden safe, and the forged documents.
When Leo finished speaking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small brass key with the red rubber tag, laying it carefully on the rustic wooden table between them. Marcus stared at the key for a long moment, recognition and anger flickering in his sharp gray eyes. That’s Arthur’s key, Marcus said softly, his voice gravelly with suppressed rage. I helped him install that floor safe myself the year you were born. Evelyn told everyone the estate was settled cleanly according to his final wishes, and that there was nothing left in that safe. But I knew Arthur; he was too meticulous to leave his only son unprovided for.
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Marcus stood up, pacing heavily across the plank floor of the workshop. We need to move carefully, Leo. Evelyn is cunning, and she’s got friends in the local magistrate’s office. If we just walk up to her door with this key, she’ll claim you stole it and have the sheriff haul you back for trespassing. We need ironclad proof of what’s inside that safe before we make a single legal move. Marcus stopped pacing, looking directly into Leo’s eyes with a fierce, protective determination that reminded the boy intensely of his late father. We’re going back there, but this time, we’re going with a proper witness and a plan to end this once and for all.
Leo nodded slowly, sipping the sweet cocoa and feeling strength steadily returning to his limbs. Buster thumped his tail against the floorboards in agreement, as if entirely ready to march right back into the lion's den. Marcus spent the next hour gathering tools from his workshop—a heavy-duty digital camera, a small crowbar, and a set of master lockpicks just in case the key wasn't enough. He also made a coded phone call to a young, incorruptible attorney he knew in the county seat, arranging for her to meet them at the property just after sunrise. The trap was set, but everything depended on whether they could open the safe before Evelyn caught them in the act.
