Chapter 11 - The Master of Oakhaven
“Harlan! Shoot them!” Genevieve shrieked, lunging behind the massive bulk of her bodyguard. “Kill the boy and take the gun! Arthur is dead in the basement! The entire fortune is ours if no one leaves this house alive!”
Harlan took a menacing step forward, raising the heavy steel tire iron. But before he could swing, the distant sound of blaring sirens echoed through the howling storm—dozens of emergency vehicles racing up the winding three-mile driveway of Oakhaven Manor. The distinctive wail of state police cruisers and federal emergency vehicles cut through the thunder.
Genevieve’s face went completely slack. “What... what is that? Who called the police? Arthur owns the county sheriff!”
Clara stepped forward, holding Chloe close to her chest, a triumphant, brilliant smile breaking across her exhausted face. “Arthur owns the local sheriff, Genevieve. But he doesn't own the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s White-Collar Crime Division. Did you really think I spent eighteen months in that vault doing nothing? I had a hidden radio transmitter built into the old transistor radio in that bunker. Every letter I wrote, every conversation Arthur had about Cayman routing numbers, was recorded and transmitted directly to my father's old legal counsel in Washington.”
A flash of lightning illuminated Clara’s face, casting her in stark, statuesque glory. “The dead-man's switch triggered the moment the main power to the bunker was cut. The FBI has been tracking Arthur’s dummy accounts for six months. They were just waiting for proof of life. And now, they have it.”
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Harlan’s eyes widened with sudden panic. He tossed the heavy tire iron onto the marble floor with a loud clang, raised his hands in surrender, and backed away toward the broken glass doors. “I’m not dying for your money, lady,” Harlan spat, turning and sprinting out into the pouring rain into the dark woods.
“Harlan! You coward! Come back here!” Genevieve screamed, her voice cracking into hysterics. She turned back toward Caleb, her eyes wide and feral, lunging forward with her bare hands to rip the gun from his grip. “I will burn this entire manor to the ground before I let you take my life!”
