Chapter 5 - The Gathering Storm
The security around the Blake estate had doubled by nightfall. Four more armed guards patrolled the perimeter, their flashlights cutting through the thick, damp fog that had rolled in from the river.
In the guest cottage, Vanessa sat in the dark, watching the headlights of the patrol cars sweep across the lawn. Her hands were cold, her throat dry. She knew Julian’s rules. He didn't allow mistakes. And she had made a massive one by letting Helena find that letter.
The window of the cottage bedroom shattered with a sudden, sharp crack.
Vanessa jumped, screaming as a hand reached through the broken glass, unlocking the frame and pushing it open. A tall man in a black tactical jacket slipped into the room, his face covered by a dark ski mask.
"Quiet," he hissed, his voice low and threatening. "Julian sent me."
Vanessa clutched her silk blouse, her heart pounding. "Is he... is he getting me out of here?"
"The boss doesn't like loose ends, Vanessa," the man said, pulling a suppressed handgun from his holster. "You talked too much to Adriano. You let him find the books."
"No! I didn't tell him anything about the Cayman accounts!" she sobbed, backing away until her knees hit the bed. "I swear! He found them himself! He has people in Singapore!"
"It doesn't matter," the gunman said, stepping closer. "The docks are locked in a trust. The only way the boss gets them is if the kids and Adriano are gone. And you’re going to help us get inside the main house."
"How?" she whimpered. "The guards... they have the whole place locked down."
"You have the security code for the kitchen entrance," the man said, raising the gun to her forehead. "You’re going to walk up to the door, input the code, and let us in. If you do, we’ll put you on a boat to South America. If you don't, you die right here."
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Vanessa looked at the cold, black barrel of the gun. She thought of Adriano’s cold eyes, of the twins’ tearful faces, and of the wealth she had almost possessed.
"Okay," she whispered, her voice hardening with the desperate survival instinct of a cornered animal. "I'll do it."
