Chapter 2 - Shadows in the Hallway
Clara slammed the cedar panel shut and dropped to her knees, pretending to pick up fallen hangers just as the bedroom door handle turned with a metallic groan.
Julian stepped back inside, his brows furrowed in suspicion. ""Who were you talking to?""
Clara kept her back to him, gathering the wooden hangers into her trembling arms. ""Nobody. My head hurts. I dropped something.""
Julian’s gaze swept across the floor, lingering on the edge of the carpet where the closet opened. He stepped closer, his boots heavy against the hardwood. Clara’s heart thundered against her ribs, but her pulse remained deceptively slow in her throat. She stayed small, hunched, playing the frightened shell he expected.
""If I hear another word from you tonight, Clara, you sleep in the basement,"" he said coldly. He grabbed a spare pillow and blanket from the top shelf above her, deliberately kicking one of her slippers across the floor before marching out. This time, the key turned in the lock from the outside.
He had locked her in.
Clara exhaled slowly through her nose, the mask of submission melting off her face. She waited ten minutes until the plumbing clanked downstairs—Julian taking a shower in the guest suite.
She pulled out the burner phone again. Her fingers tapped out a sequence of numbers memorized through five agonizing years. The call rang three times before an elderly, gravelly voice answered.
""Vance speaking.""
""Vance,"" Clara said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp register. ""It’s Clara Vance.""
A sharp intake of breath hissed through the receiver. ""Clara? Good god, child. Where have you been? We’ve tried reaching you for three years. Julian told the entire board you had relapsed into mental instability.""
""Julian is a thief,"" Clara said quietly. ""And Eleanor is a butcher. But their time is up. Are the blind trusts still intact under my father's original stipulations?""
""Every single one,"" Vance answered, the veteran corporate attorney’s tone hardening instantly. ""Seventy percent of the holding company’s voting shares belong to you the moment you invoke Article Nine. But you need to present the physical ledger and appear in person before the board. Julian called an emergency meeting for noon tomorrow to finalize the overseas asset transfer.""
Clara glanced down at the blood spots on her sleeve. ""Noon? Then we have twelve hours. Vance, I need a locksmith at the terrace window by 3:00 AM. And get Dr. Mitchell on standby. I need an official forensic report before the sun comes up.""
""Done,"" Vance said without hesitation. ""Clara... are you safe right now?""
May you like
Clara looked into the dark windowpane, meeting her own hollow reflection. ""I’m not in danger, Vance. They are.""
She hung up, but just as she tucked the phone away, the terrace latch outside rattled violently against the autumn wind. A shadow was already standing on the balcony railing.
