Chapter 11 - The House Goes Dark
Richard turned toward Daniel.
“What does she mean?”
Victoria stood. “Graham wasn’t supposed to leave. He was supposed to destroy the backups and disappear after the wedding.”
“What wedding?” Richard snapped. “We’re already married.”
“Our foundation renewal ceremony next month. The one with the amended estate documents.”
Richard remembered the packet his attorneys had prepared.
Routine updates, Victoria had called them.
He had not signed yet.
“What was in those documents?”
Victoria did not answer.
The lights went out.
The entire mansion dropped into darkness.
Somewhere upstairs, a child screamed.
Richard ran.
“Maya!”
Emergency lights flickered red along the hallway.
He took the stairs two at a time.
The guest room door where Maya had been resting stood open.
The guard outside lay on the floor, conscious but dazed.
“She’s gone,” he said.
Richard’s heart stopped.
Daniel shouted into his radio. “Lock every gate!”
No response.
The security network was down.
Richard ran to the window.
At the far edge of the property, a maintenance SUV was moving toward the east service road.
Graham’s access vehicle.
Richard sprinted through the house and into the garage.
Daniel followed.
Victoria shouted from behind them, “He’ll go to the old carriage house!”
Richard stopped.
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s where he kept the original files.”
Daniel grabbed her arm. “You’re coming.”
They drove across the frozen grounds in Richard’s SUV.
The carriage house sat beyond the formal gardens, separated from the main estate by a line of old oak trees.
Its door was open.
Inside, one weak bulb swung from the ceiling.
Maya’s pink bow lay on the concrete floor.
Richard picked it up.
Then he heard her.
Not crying.
Whispering.
May you like
“Daddy?”
The sound came from beneath them.
