Chapter 13 - The Shadow at the GatesThe next morning, the heavy iron security gates of the Caldwell estate were breached.
I was in the grand parlor reviewing financial ledgers with the lead corporate attorney when the estate’s security alarm blared. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I watched a black unmarked sedan barrel down the long gravel driveway, coming to a screeching halt right in front of the marble steps.
The passenger door swung open. A tall, silver-haired man in a tailored dark trench coat stepped out, adjusting expensive leather gloves. He didn't look like a burglar or a disgruntled investor; he carried himself with the terrifying, effortless authority of a man who owned empires.
"Who is that?" my attorney whispered, panic tightening his voice. "Grace, we need to call security."
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"No," I said, my voice ice-cold as I watched the stranger stride purposefully toward the double front doors. "Let him in. I think he’s the reason my mother hid me away in the first place."
The heavy oak doors pushed open before anyone could touch the handle. The stranger stepped into the foyer, his piercing gray eyes scanning the opulent hallway before locking directly onto mine.
