Chapter 31 - The Smoke and the Gunshot
"You think you won, Daniel?" Victoria laughed, a sound so cold and devoid of sanity it made the arresting officers pause. "You think Julian and I were acting alone?"
Daniel froze, a sudden spike of dread piercing through the relief in his chest. "What are you talking about?"
"Who do you think paid off the transport driver, Daniel?" Victoria leaned forward, her eyes glittering with dark triumph. "Who do you think gave Julian the security override codes to your mansion’s brand-new digital fence? You changed those codes yesterday afternoon. Only three people had access to the master server."
Daniel felt the world tilt on its axis.
He had installed the new encrypted security system himself less than twenty-four hours ago. The only people who possessed the administrative credentials were him, the lead technician... and his own mother, Evelyn Vance, who handled the family trust's private estate management.
"Your precious family..." Victoria whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "They never hated me because of how I treated Lily, Daniel. They hated me because I wouldn't share the offshore bonds with them. Your mother wanted you broken. She wanted custody of Lily so she could control the family trust indefinitely."
"Shut your mouth!" Detective Miller barked, shoving Victoria into the back of the transport cage. "Don't listen to her, Vance. She’s throwing dirt to save her own skin."
The door slammed shut.
Daniel stood in the pounding rain, the blood from his arm dripping steadily onto the wet gravel. He looked toward the perimeter of the marina where Grace was sitting inside an ambulance, wrapping a warm shock blanket around Lily’s shoulders. Lily looked up, caught her father’s eye through the rain, and reached out her small hand.
Daniel ran toward them.
He climbed into the back of the ambulance, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around both Lily and Grace. Lily buried her face into his chest, her small body shaking with tears of release.
"Daddy... you came," Lily sobbed, clinging to his shirt.
"I will always come for you, Lily," Daniel choked out, burying his face in her damp hair. "Nothing in this world will ever take you away from me again. Never."
Grace watched them, tears shining in her eyes, placing a gentle, reassuring hand on Daniel’s uninjured shoulder. For the first time in months, the air felt clear. The nightmare of Victoria Vance was behind steel bars and heavy chains.
May you like
Or so they believed.
***
