Chapter 3 - The Midnight Raid
Vance’s face turned an ugly shade of ash. He lunged toward the desk, reaching into his coat lining, but I was already moving.
I grabbed the heavy bronze paperweight off my desk and hurled it across the gap. It caught Vance squarely in the shoulder, knocking him backward against the glass display case. His gun clattered onto the Persian rug.
Clara screamed, backing away into the corner as heavy footfalls pounded against the mahogany front doors.
"Julian! Open up! State Police!" a loud voice boomed through the storm outside.
Before Vance could recover his firearm, I stepped over him, kicked the gun under the sofa, and unlocked the heavy double doors. Six state troopers, accompanied by my head legal counsel, Richard Sterling, poured into the foyer with weapons drawn.
"Julian Duca?" the lead officer asked.
"I'm Julian Duca," I said, pointing back into the parlor. "Vance Carter and Clara Carter are currently attempting to destroy evidence related to human trafficking, corporate fraud, and illegal medical coercion."
"You bastard!" Vance shrieked as two troopers tackled him to the floor, forcing his arms behind his back and clicking heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists. "You ruined everything! You don't have the proof! Pendelton is gone!"
"We have the ledger, Vance," Richard Sterling said, stepping into the parlor holding a thick leather briefcase. "While you were threatening Julian, federal agents raided your private offices on 5th Avenue. We found the offshore accounts, the clinic payments to Switzerland, and Dr. Pendelton’s private correspondence."
Clara collapsed into a chair, hiding her face in her hands, weeping hysterically. "Julian... please! He made me do it! Vance threatened me! I loved you, Julian! I didn't want any of this!"
I stood in the doorway, watching her with a heart that felt entirely made of stone.
"Take them away," I told the lead trooper.
As the officers dragged Vance and Clara out into the pouring rain, their frantic shouts were swallowed by the sound of thunder and police sirens.
Richard Sterling stepped up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right, Julian?"
"Where is the child’s mother?" I asked, my voice hollow. "Vance said she died in childbirth."
"Our agents are checking the private clinic in Evanston right now," Richard replied gravely. "We’ll know the truth within the hour. But Julian... there’s something else."
"What?"
"Dr. Arthur Pendelton isn't hiding in the city," Richard said, pulling a digital tablet from his briefcase. "His vehicle was spotted on your estate’s perimeter road five minutes ago. He didn't run away after sending the girl. He’s still outside."
I looked out into the pitch-black woods surrounding my estate. The rain was beginning to turn into a thick, blinding sleet.
"He wants to see the child," I whispered.
May you like
"Or he wants to finish what he started," Richard warned. "Don't go out there, Julian. Let the police handle it."
"No," I said, grabbing a heavy coat from the hall rack. "He hid the truth from me for twelve years. He owes me answers face-to-face."
