Chapter 7 - THE NET CLOSES TIGHTER
We left the house before dawn the next morning.
Daniel insisted we travel separately. He sent me ahead with two trusted security guards to a safe house an hour outside the city. A place owned by an old business associate of his father. A man who had known Robert for decades and despised him.
Daniel remained behind. He needed to gather additional documents. Digital records. Bank transfers. Emails Julian had sent him shortly before vanishing. Pieces of evidence that would tie everything together before we handed the full case file to the independent prosecutor we had contacted the previous evening.
I sat in the quiet living room of the safe house, watching the sun rise over distant hills, and thought about everything that had happened. My own brother. A man I had loved and trusted my whole life. A man who had killed my husband. Who had tried to kill me. Who had nearly destroyed my son. It felt impossible. Like a nightmare from which I would eventually wake.
But the evidence was real. The threats were real. And the danger was very real indeed.
Around mid-morning, my phone rang.
I looked at the screen. Julian.
My heart skipped. I answered immediately.
"Julian? Where are you? Daniel needs to speak to you. If you turn yourself in and testify against Robert, we can protect you—"
"Listen to me," Julian interrupted. His voice was breathless. Filled with terror. "There is no protection. Not from him. Not from anyone. He knows you have the letter. He knows Daniel is gathering evidence. He sent men to Daniel's home an hour ago. They did not find him. So they are coming here."
I went cold all over. "How do you know this?"
"I heard them planning," Julian said frantically. "I have been hiding. Watching. Waiting to see which way to jump. Robert is furious. He told them to leave no witnesses. He wants the letter. He wants the box. And he wants both of you... gone. Permanently."
"When?" I demanded. "When are they coming?"
"Now," Julian said. "He gave them orders this morning. Burn the house if necessary. Just make certain nothing remains. Margaret... tell Daniel to run. There are too many of them. And they are armed."
The call ended.
I stood up shakily. I rushed to the window. The long gravel driveway lay empty and quiet beneath the autumn trees. But Julian would not lie about something like this. He was terrified. And if Julian was afraid... then we had very little time.
I called Daniel. It went straight to voicemail.
"Daniel, they are coming," I said as calmly as I could manage. "Robert knows. They are on their way to the safe house. Do not come here. Go directly to the prosecutor. Give him everything. Do not come for me. Do not—"
A car turned onto the drive.
Black. Unmarked. Moving fast.
I dropped the phone.
Two men stepped out before the car had even stopped. Big. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in dark clothing. They walked toward the front door without hurry. Confident. Certain they would find exactly what they had come for.
The security guards moved to intercept them. I heard voices raised. A shout. Then a loud, sickening crack. One guard fell. Then the other.
The front door burst open.
I backed away until my legs struck the sofa. I could not run. I could not fight. I was old. Weak. Trapped.
The taller of the two men walked into the room. He looked at me. At my wheelchair. At the empty table beside me.
"Where is it?" he asked. His voice was flat. Professional. Without malice. But utterly without mercy.
"I do not know what you mean," I said.
He took another step forward. Behind him, the second man stood watching the doorway.
"The letter. The box. Everything your husband hid. Robert wants it handed over. Peacefully. Or we take it from your dead hands."
I gripped the arms of my wheelchair. "You work for my brother. You are doing his bidding. Destroying his own family."
The man did not flinch. "I do as I am paid. Now give it to me. Or I will make you suffer. It makes no difference to me."
Suddenly tires screeched outside.
An engine revved loud and sharp.
The man by the window turned. "Another car."
Daniel burst through the doorway before they could react. He did not stop. He drove his shoulder hard into the second man, sending him crashing against the wall. The first man lunged. Daniel ducked. They grappled, staggering across the room, knocking over lamps and tables.
Daniel was strong. But the man is stronger. He landed a blow to Daniel's face that made him stagger backward. Blood ran from Daniel's nose. But he did not fall. He lunged again, fighting with a desperate, wild strength I had never seen in him before.
"Mother!" he shouted. "Go! Get out the back!"
I tried to push my wheelchair forward. But it jammed against the rug. I cried out in frustration.
The attacker raised a heavy glass ornament to strike Daniel down.
"Don't!" I screamed.
Daniel saw the movement. He dodged the blow. He drove his fist hard into the man's ribs. Grabbed his arm. Twisted. There was a sharp snap. A roar of pain. The man fell to his knees.
Daniel did not wait. He rushed to me. He freed my chair. He wheeled me toward the rear door.
"He has more men coming!" Daniel gasped, wiping blood from his face. "Julian called me. Robert sent a team. We have to move fast."
"What about the evidence?" I asked.
"It is safe," Daniel said. "Sent to the prosecutor an hour ago. Before I left. Robert will not find it. No one will."
We rushed out into the cool morning air. Daniel wheeled me rapidly down the rear path to where he had parked his own car hidden among trees. He helped me inside. Slammed the door. Raced around to the driver's seat.
As he pulled away, I looked back toward the house. Smoke was already beginning to rise from the roof. They had set fire to the place. To destroy any trace of us. Any evidence that we had ever been there.
Daniel gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He drove fast, eyes scanning every vehicle we passed.
"He meant what he said," Daniel said quietly. "Robert will not stop. Not now. Not until he is certain we are dead."
"He set fire to the house," I said. "He killed the guards. He sent men to attack us in broad daylight. He does not fear the law at all."
"No," Daniel agreed. "He does not. Because he believes he is untouchable. That he has enough money, enough influence, enough power to crush anyone who stands against him."
Daniel glanced at his watch.
"In two days," he said, "the prosecutor receives everything. The letter. The ledgers. The recordings. Julian's sworn statement. Bank transfers. Names. Dates. Every single piece of evidence."
"And until then?" I asked.
May you like
Daniel looked at me. His face was streaked with dried blood and exhaustion. But his eyes burned with quiet, unshakable resolve.
"Until then... we stay one step ahead. We watch. We wait. And when the hammer finally falls... we make certain there is nowhere left on earth for him to run."
