Chapter 47 - The price of survival
The perimeter camera on the wall monitor flickered to life, showing the iron gates of the estate swinging open. A solitary black sedan drove slowly through the wreckage of the courtyard, ignoring the broken glass and the smoking chassis of Vance's transport truck.
"That's not my team," Vance muttered, his arrogance faltering into genuine unease as he squinted at the screen. "My backup was ordered to hold at the perimeter highway."
Grace moved toward the monitor, her tactical instincts overriding the family crisis. "Two occupants in the front, one in the rear. Civilian plates, state registered. Whoever this is, they didn't breach the gate with force. They used an active Caldwell transponder code."
Ethan stood up slowly, stuffing the forged documents and the seventh page into his coat. He looked at Lily, his eyes filled with profound remorse. "Lily, whatever you find out tonight, I swear to you that every decision I made was to keep you safe from the people who destroyed our family from the inside. I will answer every question. But we have to survive the next ten minutes first."
Lily looked at the floor, her hands balling into tight fists. She was hurt, but she wasn't the silent, helpless child who had hidden in the corners of the ballroom months ago. She took a deep, steadying breath. "Tie Vance and Julian up. We don't leave enemies behind our backs."
Grace moved without hesitation, using heavy zip-ties to bind Vance’s wrists and ankles to the structural pipe, doing the same to Julian, who was shivering in the corner, sobbing quietly.
"Grace, take the blind corner by the inner foyer," Ethan directed, his voice regaining its command authority. "Lily, stay three paces behind me. Don't speak unless I give you the sign."
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They ascended the iron staircase into the drafty, rain-swept foyer. Through the shattered double doors, the black sedan came to a smooth halt directly under the portico lights. The driver’s side door opened, and a tall, slender woman stepped out into the pouring rain.
She held no weapon. In her hand was a black leather briefcase identical to the one Vance had brought.
