A young married couple does not need two bedrooms

“You…” Adrian whispered, his voice shaking with a mixture of disbelief and volcanic fury. “How the hell did you get out of the hospital? How are you even in this house?”

He took a slow, heavy step into the library, his eyes dropping down to the open safe, the leather-bound ledger in my hands, and the phone screen glowing with photographs of his family’s criminal empire.

“You’re breaking into my father’s safe,” Adrian said, a dark, manic smile spreading across his face. “You actually think you’re going to walk out of here with that, don't you?”

I slowly stood up from the floor, holding the ledger tightly against my chest with one hand while my other hand gripped the encrypted key fob in my coat pocket, keeping my thumb resting over the emergency panic button linked directly to Detective Vance’s tactical unit.

“I’m not walking out of here, Adrian,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I’m putting you and your entire family away for the rest of your natural lives.”

Adrian laughed—a harsh, barking sound devoid of any humor. “With what, Claire? A stolen ledger? My father’s lawyers will have that thrown out of court before the judge even reads the cover page. You’re nothing. You’re an outsider. You thought you could marry into the Clarke family and play with the big boys?”

He took another step closer, closing the distance between us. I could smell the stale scotch and expensive cologne radiating off his silk robe.

“You should have stayed in the hospital,” Adrian hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits. “You should have taken the money and kept your mouth shut. Just like Maya. Just like my mother.”

“Your mother isn't in South America, Adrian,” I said, locking my gaze onto his.

Adrian stopped dead in his tracks. The color drained entirely from his face, leaving him looking like a corpse under the library lights.

“What… what did you say?” he stammered, his bravado instantly shattering into raw, naked panic.

“She’s in the county medical center,” I said clearly, letting every word cut like a razor blade. “The police found her tonight. Locked in the soundproof cell beneath your wine cellar. Where you and your father kept her hidden for twelve years while you pretended she abandoned you.”

Adrian let out a choked, desperate sound, his hands flying to his head. “No… no, that’s—you’re lying! The police couldn't have—they don't have the code!”

“They didn't need the code,” I lied smoothly, watching him unravel. “They brought a plasma cutter.”

Adrian lost his mind. With a primal roar of absolute fury, he lunged across the mahogany desk like a cornered animal, his hands outstretched to grab my throat.

I didn't run. I didn't scream.

With my thumb resting on the encrypted key fob in my coat pocket, I pressed the emergency panic button and held it down for three full seconds.

BEEP.