Chapter 13 - Secrets from the Grave
The name hung in the air like a lethal poison, choking the oxygen straight out of the safe room.
Julian Vance was supposed to be a memory, a tragedy carved into an expensive marble headstone in the family cemetery.
Marcus had told me about his older brother during our first months together—the golden boy who drowned during a solo yacht trip in Monaco.
His body had never been recovered, but the Vance family had collected over eighty million dollars in life insurance payouts.
Now, that supposed ghost was speaking through an encrypted radio, his voice brimming with cold, calculated amusement.
"Death is remarkably easy to fake when Mother writes the checks to the French authorities," Julian replied smoothly.
The radio crackled with sea static, mirroring the crashing waves against the jagged rocks outside our windows.
"What do you want, Julian?" Marcus growled, his grip on the radio tightening until his fingers turned purple.
"I want what was always mine," Julian said, his tone chillingly devoid of brotherly affection.
"You took Mother down, you put Isabella in a cage, and you thought you could claim the entire estate for your pathetic new family."
"You abandoned this family years ago!" Marcus roared, losing his usual stoic composure.
"I stepped into the shadows so Mother could build the offshore network without federal oversight," Julian laughed softly.
"And now that she is trapped, the power of attorney defaults entirely to the eldest living heir. Me."
Maya let out another soft whimper, sensing the dark wave of hostility radiating from her father.
I backed further against the concrete wall, clutching her against my chest as if my own body could shield her from the radio's voice.
"You stay away from my wife and child," Marcus said through gritted teeth, every syllable sharp as a broken blade.
"I don't need to chase you, Marcus," Julian said, his voice lowering to an intimate, terrifying whisper.
"Look at the baby monitor again. Check the timestamp on the files."
Marcus quickly tapped the interface on the safe room security console, pulling up the nursery system logs.
The log showed an external drive had been connected to the nursery's internal system over three hours ago.
Long before the silver box was left on our front porch, someone had already compromised our home.
"What did you do?" Marcus demanded, his voice suddenly hollow, hollowed out by pure dread.
"Eleanor gave me access to the medical synthesis labs before her arrest," Julian revealed with sickening pride.
"A microscopic dose of specialized neurotoxin was introduced into the nursery's automated humidifier vents."
My vision spun violently as my gaze snapped toward the vent overhead inside the panic room.
This safe room was connected to the central climate control system of the main house.
"It takes about twenty minutes to saturate the bloodstream of an infant," Julian continued, completely detached.
"If you want the antidote, little brother, you will deliver the Vance encrypted offshore ledger to the old lighthouse at midnight."
"Alone. Without Clara, without police, and without your weapons."
The radio clicked abruptly, descending into empty, hollow static that offered no further answers.
I dropped to my knees, frantic hands checking Maya's skin, her forehead, her breathing.
Her skin felt unusually warm, and a faint purplish tinge was beginning to shadow her delicate eyelids.
"Marcus!" I screamed, the sound tearing from the very depths of my soul. "Look at her! Look at her face!"
Marcus dropped beside me, touching Maya’s cheek, his composure crumbling into total, agonizing helplessness.
"We don't have enough time to get to a hospital in Portland," Marcus choked out, tears finally spilling from his eyes.
"Then you give him whatever he wants," I sobbed, clutching Marcus's arm with desperate strength. "You save our daughter!"
Marcus stared at Maya’s weakening chest rises, then looked at the dark tunnel leading out toward the estate garage.
May you like
"The ledger isn't just money, Clara," Marcus whispered, his voice trembling with a dark truth. "It contains evidence that will execute us all."
***
