Chapter 14 - Shadow in the Nursery
A sharp, metallic crack echoed from the second floor, shattering the library's stunned silence.
Daniel reacted instantly, lunging for the service revolver locked inside the desk drawer. Claire snatched Lily from the crib, holding the baby against her chest with one arm while her other hand reached for an antique bronze letter opener.
"Stay behind me," Daniel barked, gesturing for Samuel to guard the library exit.
They ascended the servant stairs in total darkness, avoiding the creaking treads with practiced familiarity. The air on the upper landing smelled faintly of copper and outdoor rain. The door to Lily’s nursery hung slightly ajar, the brass frame scarred by heavy crowbar gouges.
Daniel kicked the door open, weapon raised.
The nursery was completely ransacked. Plush toys were torn open across the white carpet; the mattress had been flipped and slashed down the center seams. But the intruder was gone. The grand sash window overlooking the conservatory roof stood wide open, curtains billowed violently by the rainstorm outside.
Lying on the floor, directly inside Lily's antique silver bassinet, was a disposable burner phone.
It began to vibrate, buzzing like an angry hornet against the hollow wicker.
May you like
Daniel stepped forward and pressed speakerphone without picking it up.
"You should have kept eating the cake, Daniel," a digitized, distorted voice rasped through the speaker. "The wedding was your last chance to pretend this family was built on love. You have seventy-two hours to return the offshore ledger keys, or your daughter will become what you were: an untraceable product."
