Chapter 1 - The Call from Clearwater
"...Someone entered the property yesterday afternoon," Officer Brooks said, his voice measured and grave over the line.
My grip tightened on my phone until my knuckles turned white. My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird. "What do you mean 'entered'? Was there a break-in? Did someone hurt the dog?"
"Ma'am, I need you to stay calm," Officer Brooks replied smoothly. "The dog, a golden retriever named Cooper, is completely fine. A neighbor heard persistent barking yesterday evening and noticed the front door was slightly ajar. When officers responded to perform a welfare check, they found no sign of forced entry. However, the interior of the house has been thoroughly ransacked."
I sank into my friend Maya’s couch, my mind spinning. "Ransacked? Like a burglary?"
"That’s what’s unusual, Miss Vance," the officer continued. "Valuables like high-end electronics, jewelry sitting on the dresser, and televisions were left untouched. Whoever entered the property was looking for something very specific. Paperwork. Files. Safes."
A cold sensation washed over me.
Paperwork.
My mind raced back to the night before. When my father pushed that house key across the table and my sister Ashley mocked me for "acting like a victim," I hadn't just walked out out of anger. I had gone up to my bedroom and packed all my legal documents, birth certificate, tax records, and the deed to my late grandfather's estate that my father had been keeping in his home office safe.
"Officer," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "My parents and siblings are currently in Florida on vacation. Did you try calling my father, Arthur Vance?"
"We called his mobile multiple times," Officer Brooks said with a heavy sigh. "It goes straight to voicemail. We also attempted to contact your sister, Ashley Vance. No answer. Your name was listed as the primary secondary contact on the property registry, along with your childhood home phone."
I let out a bitter, humorless laugh. Of course they weren't answering. They were at an all-inclusive resort in Florida, probably sipping margaritas by the pool, celebrating their "best family vacation ever" while completely ignoring their phones so I couldn't "bother" them about house-sitting.
"I can be at the house in twenty minutes," I told the officer.
"We'll be waiting, Miss Vance."
I hung up and looked at Maya, who was standing in her kitchen holding two cups of coffee, having overheard every word.
"You're not actually going back there to clean up their mess, are you, Lauren?" Maya asked, her eyes filled with protective concern. "They treated you like a unpaid servant. They left you behind without a second thought!"
"I have to go, Maya," I said, grabbing my coat. "Not for my parents. For Cooper. And because I need to know what anyone could possibly want from my father's study."
When I arrived at my childhood home twenty minutes later, two police cruisers were parked in the driveway. The grand suburban house, which had always felt like a velvet cage to me, now looked strangely desolate.
Officer Brooks, a tall man in his late thirties with sharp blue eyes, met me on the porch. Beside him, Cooper came bounding out, whining softly and burying his golden head into my lap. I knelt down, hugging him tightly.
"Good boy, Cooper," I whispered, feeling tears prick my eyes. "I'm sorry I left you with them."
"He was locked in the laundry room when we arrived," Officer Brooks noted, watching me closely. "Whoever broke in didn't want the dog interfering. Come inside, Miss Vance. You need to see this."
I walked into the house. The living room looked normal, but when Officer Brooks led me down the hallway into my father’s private study, my breath caught in my throat.
The heavy mahogany desk had been pulled away from the wall. Every cabinet door was wide open. Thousands of documents, bank statements, and tax files were strewn across the carpet like autumn leaves.
And right in the center of the room sat my father's heavy floor safe.
The heavy steel door was standing wide open—not picked or blown open with force, but unlocked with a key and combination code.
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"There was no sign of forced entry on the front door, and no forced entry on the safe," Officer Brooks said, watching my expression. "Miss Vance... whoever did this had a key to the house and knew the combination to your father's private safe."
I stared at the empty vault. "Only three people in the world knew that combination," I whispered. "My father, my mother... and my father's business partner, Richard Hayes."
