Chapter 13 - Ash on the Mountain
The Bel-Air canyon was choked with thick, black smoke that turned the morning dawn into a sulfurous twilight. Three fire engines stood with their ladders extended, drowning the smoldering ruins of the Sterling estate in thousands of gallons of water. The grand limestone mansion, which had stood for sixty years as a symbol of untouchable generational power, was reduced to a blackened skeleton of charred timber and twisted steel girders.
Daniel stood behind the yellow emergency tape at the base of the driveway, accompanied by Agent David Vance. The heat radiating from the debris was still intense, carrying the nauseating stench of melted plastic, burned leather, and chemical accelerants.
""The whole place went up in minutes,"" the incident commander reported, wiping soot from his helmet as he approached the federal agent. ""Whoever set this used commercial-grade aviation fuel. It started simultaneously in four points: the main library, the basement server room, the executive office, and the underground garage.""
""Any sign of Arthur Sterling?"" Daniel asked, his voice hollow.
The fire chief shook his head grimly. ""We found two bodies in the study, burned beyond recognition. Dental records will take twenty-four hours. We also found a third body in the service tunnel near the wine cellar.""
""He didn't die here,"" Daniel said flatly, looking up at the blackened hill. ""Arthur Sterling would never burn himself alive to cover his tracks. He’s too cowardly for suicide.""
""Mr. Sterling is right,"" Agent Vance agreed, tapping a newly received message on his encrypted tablet. ""Customs and Border Protection just flagged an offshore transaction. A private Gulfstream registered to a Shell corporation out of Panama took off from Van Nuys Airport at 4:30 AM—thirty minutes before the first explosion was reported. Flight plan was filed for Belize, then onward to Zurich.""
""He burned the evidence,"" Daniel realized, his fists clenching at his sides. ""He knew the FBI was raiding the compound. He knew Eleanor’s arrest would trigger a federal audit of the family foundation. He torched the physical records, liquidated the bearer bonds in the vault, and left his wife to rot in a federal cell.""
""And the bodies?"" Agent Vance asked quietly.
""Julian Vance and the household security team,"" Daniel said with absolute certainty. ""Loose ends. Arthur doesn't leave witnesses behind. He cleans the board completely.""
Daniel’s phone rang. It was the head nurse from the neonatal intensive care unit.
May you like
""Mr. Sterling, you need to come back to the hospital immediately,"" the nurse said, her voice laced with sudden urgency. ""There’s an emergency in Pod 7.""
Daniel didn't wait for another word. He sprinted back toward Agent Vance’s unmarked vehicle, the sirens echoing off the burning hills as they tore back toward Westwood.
