Chapter 12 - The silence in the penthouse
Sixty floors above the alley, the silence inside the grand penthouse was suffocating. Frank Calloway walked slowly across the polished marble floor, his worn boots leaving faint outlines of damp dust that nobody dared to clean. He stopped before the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, looking out over the glittering grid of the city skyline. Behind him, Arthur Vance stood at military attention, holding a leather folder filled with legal revocation forms. Between them sat Clara, huddled on the ivory velvet sectional, her mascara running in dark streaks down her pale, porcelain cheeks.
Her hands shook violently as she stared at the master brass key stamped C.H. 001 resting peacefully in the middle of the mahogany dining table. "Dad..." Clara whispered, her voice barely louder than the hum of the central heating. "I didn't know. I swear to you, I didn't know he was draining the company accounts. He told me you were resting peacefully in the countryside clinic. He told me you were losing your mind." Frank did not turn around immediately. He kept his hands buried deep inside his wool coat, feeling the old silver pocket watch his late wife had gifted him when they poured the first concrete foundation of this tower.
"Did he tell you to pour red wine on my coat, Clara?" Frank asked softly, his tone devoid of anger, which made the words hurt ten times more. Clara choked on a sob, burying her face into her trembling hands. "He threatened me," she wept, her shoulders heaving beneath her silk blouse. "He found the old hospital records from ten years ago. The mistake I made when Mom was sick... the prescription errors. He said if I didn't sign the power of attorney over to him, he would leak the police reports to the press and destroy your legacy forever." Frank slowly turned, his silver eyes flashing with sharp clarity. He walked over to his daughter and placed a heavy, calloused hand on top of her head. "A daughter's shame is a father's duty to bear," Frank said quietly. "Ethan didn't find those hospital records by accident, Clara. He manufactured them. And now, he's coming back for the vault."
