Chapter 7 - The Midnight Ultimatum.
The grandfather clock in the downstairs hallway chimed midnight with deep, ominous echoes.
The mansion was completely dark, save for the pale moonlight cutting through the tall, arched windows.
Upstairs in the master bedroom, Victoria and Richard sat across from each other at a small mahogany table.
Spread out before them were thick legal documents detailing the complete transfer of the Sterling estate and all remaining assets.
"She still refuses to sign the transfer lines," Victoria muttered angrily, tapping a diamond-encrusted pen against the wooden tabletop.
"Stubborn old witch," Richard grumbled, swirling a glass of scotch in his hand.
"If she doesn't sign by sunrise, the lawyers say we can't access the offshore accounts for another six months."
Victoria stood up abruptly, her face twisting into a cruel, determined smirk.
"Then we make her sign tonight," Victoria declared softly, walking toward the door.
"Let's go have a little family chat in the guest suite."
Down the hall, the grandmother lay awake in her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
Her heart pounded like a trapped bird against her ribs with every slight creak of the old house.
Suddenly, the heavy bedroom door creaked open, flooding the dark room with a strip of harsh yellow hallway light.
Victoria and Richard stepped silently into the room like predators closing in on their wounded prey.
The old woman scrambled back against the headboard, pulling the heavy blankets tightly around her frail body.
"What... what do you want from me now?"
The grandmother whispered, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Richard walked over to the side table and clicked on the small reading lamp, casting a harsh glow over the room.
"You know very well what we want, Mother," Richard said smoothly, pulling a pen and a stack of papers from his folder.
"Just sign your name on the dotted line, and all of this unpleasantness can finally come to an end."
Victoria leaned over the foot of the bed, her eyes glittering with unbridled greed.
"If you cooperate, we might even let you live out your final days in this comfortable room instead of the freezing basement," Victoria threatened sweetly.
The grandmother looked at the papers, recognizing the bold letters spelling out the complete forfeiture of her life's work.
"I built this company... I built this family," the old woman choked out, tears spilling over her wrinkled cheeks.
"And you want to throw me away like garbage."
"Times change, Mother, and you're just taking up space," Victoria snapped, losing her patience as she shoved the clipboard closer.
"Sign it right now, or we'll make sure nobody ever hears from you again."
Outside the estate gates, a dark sedan pulled up quietly alongside the curb without turning on its headlights.
The door clicked open, and the former nurse stepped out onto the damp pavement, clutching a small recording device in her hand.
May you like
She looked up at the towering windows of the mansion, a fierce, unbreakable resolve settling deep within her eyes.
"You won't get away with this," the nurse whispered into the night air, taking her first silent step toward the perimeter fence.
