Chapter 5 - THE MAN IN THE DARKThe house fell into darkness.
Maisie screamed.
Evelyn grabbed her.
“Stay with me.”
Glass shattered downstairs.
Bell drew his weapon.
“Everyone down!”
A security alarm began screaming.
Grant disappeared.
Vanessa shouted his name.
No answer.
Bell moved toward the staircase.
Then footsteps sounded above them.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was walking through the second floor.
Evelyn held Maisie tightly.
The emergency lights flickered on.
For one second, everyone saw a silhouette at the end of the corridor.
Then it vanished.
Bell ran.
A door slammed.
He reached it.
Locked.
He kicked it open.
Empty.
Except for a small wooden box sitting on the floor.
Inside was an old photograph.
Rebecca.
Arthur.
And another man.
Evelyn recognized him immediately.
Her father.
Bell stared.
“Who is that?”
“My father.”
“Why would he be with Rebecca?”
Evelyn's hands trembled.
“Because he was the man who helped her disappear.”
The family secret had another layer.
Evelyn's father had known Rebecca was alive.
He had helped hide Vanessa.
He had created the trust.
And he had kept Evelyn away from the truth because he believed she would confront Arthur and destroy the family.
But he had left one condition.
Vanessa had to inherit the shares.
No matter what.
The person who accessed the vault wasn't trying to steal the inheritance.
They were trying to force Vanessa to claim it.
Bell looked at the photograph.
“Who benefits if she takes control?”
Vanessa whispered.
“Anyone who wants the Calloway family destroyed.”
Then they heard a car engine.
Grant.
He was leaving.
Bell ran outside.
The gates opened.
Grant's car disappeared into the rain.
Evelyn stared after him.
“He's running.”
Bell shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“He's meeting someone.”
Twenty minutes later, Bell tracked the car to an abandoned warehouse.
Grant stepped inside.
A man was waiting.
Older.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Grant stopped.
“You said the police wouldn't find me.”
The man smiled.
“They won't.”
“Vanessa knows.”
“I know.”
“Evelyn knows.”
“I know.”
Grant looked nervous.
“What do you want?”
The man placed a file on the table.
“Your daughter.”
Grant's face went white.
“No.”
“She is the key.”
“To what?”
“The trust.”
Grant shook his head.
“You said nobody would hurt her.”
“I said nobody would kill her.”
Grant stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
The man smiled.
“It means your family still doesn't understand the rules.”
The warehouse door opened.
Police flooded inside.
Bell stepped forward.
“Malcolm Vane.”
The older man's smile disappeared.
“You're under arrest.”
Grant turned.
“Malcolm?”
The man looked at him.
Then laughed.
“You really thought your grandfather was the mastermind?”
Bell handcuffed him.
Malcolm looked directly at Grant.
“Arthur was a thief.”
May you like
He smiled.
“I was the one who taught him how to steal.”
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