Chapter 5 - BLOOD IS NOT AN ASSET
The heavy wrought-iron gates of Thorne Manor swung open as our motorcade drove up the long gravel lane. For the first time in five years, the Vance family crest mounted on the stone pillars was not an emblem of Sarah's vanity, but a symbol of reclaimed honor.
Teams of private contractors were already working across the grounds. The decrepit swine pens and rotting outbuildings at the back of the property were being torn down by heavy excavators, clearing space for what would soon become a greenhouse and an organic fruit orchard for Lily. Inside the mansion, Sarah's vulgar portraits in gilded frames were being unhooked from the walls and carried out to a storage truck.
Upstairs in the master bedroom suite, Sarah was frantically stuffing designer handbags and diamond necklaces into leather suitcases while two armed private security guards watched her every move.
"You have twenty minutes remaining, Mrs. Montgomery," the security captain stated calmly, checking his tactical watch.
Sarah spun around, her eyes manic and bloodshot. "These are my personal belongings! I bought these with my own money!"
"With money stolen from Lily’s educational endowment fund," I said, leaning against the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest.
Sarah jumped, clutching a diamond tennis bracelet to her chest. Her arrogance from yesterday was completely gone, replaced by a venomous, cornered desperation.
"You think you’re a hero, don't you, Elias?" she hissed, her voice trembling with hatred. "You think you can come back here after playing soldier and take everything away from me? I built this life! I gave this house a reputation!"
"You built a house of cards on the suffering of an innocent child," I replied coldly. "Look at yourself, Sarah. You traded your soul for silk dresses while our mother’s granddaughter was sleeping on moldy sacks. If our parents were alive today, they would disown you without a second thought."
"Don't you dare speak about our parents!" she shrieked. "Father always favored you! He gave you the trust, he gave you the land, and he left me with nothing but a crumbling mansion and mounting taxes! I took what was rightfully mine!"
"Father left you ten million dollars in liquid bonds on your twenty-fifth birthday," I stated with absolute precision. "You squandered every cent on bad investments, gambling trips to Monaco, and your husband’s fraudulent shell companies within eighteen months. You didn't steal to survive, Sarah. You stole because you are hollow inside."
Before she could scream another insult, Richard stumbled into the room, his tie undone, clutching his smartphone with trembling hands.
"Sarah... we’re dead," Richard gasped, completely ignoring me. "Dominic Moretti just called my personal phone. His men found out that the auction was shut down by federal marshals. They know we don't have the twelve million. They’re thirty minutes away from the county line. They said if the cash isn't at the eastern warehouse by midnight, they’re going to take our skins."
Sarah dropped her suitcase. The jewelry spilled across the Persian rug. "What? Richard, you told me the Chicago investors were legitimate businessmen!"
"They are loan sharks, Sarah!" Richard yelled back in terror. "I had to cover the losses on the yacht project! You kept demanding more money for your galas!"
I watched the two parasites turn on each other, tearing apart whatever remained of their pathetic alliance.
"Elias!" Richard suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me, clasping his hands in a frantic prayer. "Please! You own Vanguard Apex! You have billions! Pay off Moretti! If you don't, they will murder us! We’re your family!"
"You are not my family," I said, looking down at the groveling coward with utter disgust. "When you sat in that dining room eating dry-aged steaks while Lily scavenged for scraps in the pigpen, you forfeited any claim to human decency."
"Then you’re signing our death warrants!" Sarah cried out, terror finally breaking through her pride.
"You signed your own warrants the day you dealt with the syndicate," I said. "Security, escort them off the property. Leave the luggage at the front gates. If they step past the perimeter again, use non-lethal force."
The security officers grabbed Sarah and Richard by the arms, dragging them down the grand staircase as Sarah’s frantic screams echoed through the cavernous hallways.
I walked out onto the second-floor balcony, watching as the iron gates slammed shut behind them, locking them out on the desolate country road. Down in the courtyard, Arthur Sterling approached with a satellite communication tablet in hand.
"Elias," Arthur spoke through the earpiece. "Moretti’s convoy of four black Suburbans just entered the valley via Route 9. They aren't going to the warehouse. Their GPS trackers show they are heading directly toward Thorne Manor."
I touched the comms unit on my collar.
May you like
"Alert the Vanguard tactical unit stationed in the tree line," I ordered calmly. "Let Moretti come to the front gates. It's time to show the Chicago underworld that Thorne County is no longer open for business."
***
