Chapter 3 - Shadows in the Garden
The realization that Arthur hadn't just stolen money from a bank, but from a criminal enterprise, changed everything. The estate, once a symbol of safety and legacy, now felt like a prison—or worse, a fortress that could be breached at any moment.
"We need security," I said, my voice tight. "Real security. Not just the gate guard."
"I’ve already contacted an agency," Eleanor said, standing up and moving to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself a stiff drink. "Former Mossad, SAS, intelligence backgrounds. They’ll be here by morning. But that doesn't solve the Blackwood problem. They need to be paid back, or at least appeased, before they decide to take matters into their own hands."
"How much?"
Eleanor sighed. "The total amount he diverted was nearly ten million. My liquid assets are tied up in the merger. I can’t move that kind of cash without triggering a regulatory flag."
"I have the trust," I said.
Eleanor looked at me, her eyes narrowing. "That’s your future, Olivia. That’s for Leo’s education, his life."
"If we’re dead, the trust won't matter," I retorted. "Use it. Use the trust to pay them off. We can reclaim the funds from Arthur’s hidden assets later, through the courts. Right now, I just want them gone."
Eleanor stared at me for a long time, then nodded slowly. "You’re a Vance, all right. You know how to make the hard choice."
The night that followed was the longest of my life. I didn't sleep. I sat in the darkened nursery, watching Leo sleep, a revolver—a relic Eleanor kept in her safe—sitting on the nightstand. I had never held a weapon in my life, but the cold weight of the metal felt strangely grounding.
Around 3:00 AM, the security alarm in the garden triggered.
I stood up, moving to the window. In the moonlight, I saw shadows moving through the manicured hedges. They weren't moving like guards. They were moving like soldiers.
I grabbed Leo, swaddled him tight, and ran to Eleanor’s door. She was already out of bed, dressed in a sharp suit, a walkie-talkie in her hand.
"They're here," she said, her voice calm. "To the panic room. Now."
We rushed down the hallway, the floorboards creaking under our feet. The panic room was hidden behind a false panel in the library—a reinforced steel box that looked like a regular office.
As we slammed the door shut and engaged the locks, I heard the sound of breaking glass from the main foyer.
"Eleanor," I whispered, holding Leo to my chest. "Why didn't you pay them?"
"I tried," she said, her eyes fixed on the monitors displaying the foyer. "But it seems they aren't interested in the money anymore. They’re interested in the collateral."
On the screen, I saw men in black tactical gear moving through the house, their faces obscured. They weren't looking for the safe. They were moving toward the nursery.
My heart shattered. They knew.
"They're going to take him," I gasped.
"Over my dead body," Eleanor said, her voice a low growl. She pressed a button on the control panel, and a series of blue lights pulsed around the house. "I’ve engaged the lockdown sequence. They’re trapped in the foyer. But they have C4."
"C4?"
"They plan to blow the wall," she said, her hands moving across the interface. "I've called the local police and the state troopers, but they’re fifteen minutes out. We have to survive for fifteen minutes."
I looked at my son, his tiny face pressed against my neck. I felt a surge of rage so powerful it eclipsed my fear. I wasn't going to let these monsters hurt him. I wasn't going to let Arthur’s incompetence destroy my child.
"Give me the control for the perimeter defense," I said.
Eleanor hesitated, then looked at me, her eyes reflecting the glowing screens. "Do you know how to use it?"
"I'll figure it out."
I grabbed the control, my fingers flying over the console. I saw the heat signatures of the men in the house. I saw the red lights pulsing where the explosives were being placed.
"If you press this," Eleanor pointed to a red toggle, "you release the sedative gas in the HVAC system. It’s non-lethal, but it’ll put them down for an hour. The problem is, it’ll vent into the panic room too."
"We have oxygen masks," I said, pointing to the emergency kits on the wall.
"You’re a genius," she whispered.
We strapped on the masks, the plastic cool against our skin. I held Leo’s tiny mask over his face, his eyes wide and blinking.
I pressed the red toggle.
The house shuddered as the gas began to hiss through the vents. On the monitor, the shadows began to collapse, their movements slowing, their weapons falling from their hands.
Five minutes later, the foyer was quiet.
May you like
"They're down," I said, my voice muffled by the mask.
"For now," Eleanor replied. "But the Blackwood Group is not a small organization. We’ve just declared war, Olivia. And we need to prepare for the counterattack."
