Chapter 3 - Lockdown
Nora turned on her mother.
“You used me.”
Helena’s jaw tightened. “I kept the company alive.”
“You stole it,” Roman said.
Marco stepped closer. “You were legally dead. Dead men don’t vote shares.”
Daniel’s voice came through the speaker. “Helena, Marco, I’m informing you that the contents of that vault are now potential evidence in a federal fraud investigation.”
Helena laughed. “You’re bluffing.”
“I filed preservation notices before Roman’s plane landed.”
A faint beep sounded behind Roman.
He turned.
A small security panel on the vault wall glowed red.
Marco lunged past him and hit a button.
Roman grabbed his wrist. “What did you do?”
Marco smiled. “Protected myself.”
An alarm began pulsing through the house. Heavy shutters lowered over every window. Roman’s phone lost signal.
Then the lights died.
Emergency strips painted the corridor red.
Sophie buried her face against Roman’s neck.
“I’m scared.”
“I know. Stay with me.”
Nora whispered, “Mom, unlock the house.”
Helena said nothing.
Marco backed into the darkness.
Roman heard his shoes scrape stone.
“Don’t move.”
Marco ran.
Roman chased him through the service hall, but Marco slammed a steel door behind him. By the time Roman forced it open, Marco was gone.
Roman returned to the vault.
Helena looked too calm.
“What’s in the second box?” he asked.
Her eyes flicked toward the shelf.
That was answer enough.
Roman pulled down the box marked October 15.
Inside were photographs, bank ledgers, and a metal case.
The first photograph showed Marco outside a courthouse with federal Judge Aaron Pike—the same judge who had denied Roman’s emergency appeal overseas.
The second showed Helena shaking Pike’s hand.
The ledger beneath them listed six payments totaling more than a million dollars.
Then Roman opened the metal case.
Inside was a photograph of Sophie leaving preschool.
May you like
Written across the bottom were six words:
IF ROMAN RETURNS, MOVE THE GIRL.
