Chapter 6 - THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAINDeep inside the darkened labyrinth of the East Wing, Victor slammed his shoulder against the locked door of Clara’s bedroom once more. The wood splintered slightly, but the heavy iron bolt held firm.
"Serena! Open this door!" Victor roared, his fists hammering against the panels until his knuckles bruised and bled.
"She can't hear you, Victor. And even if she could, she wouldn't care."
Victor spun around, dropping the silver lighter. Standing in the darkened corner of the bedroom, leaning casually against the dust-covered mantelpiece, was a man in an impeccably tailored gray suit. The man stepped forward into the faint amber glow of the lighter, revealing sharp, aristocratic features and cold, piercing gray eyes that Victor recognized instantly.
"Arthur Vance," Victor breathed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You're supposed to be in Zurich. You're the family lawyer."
"And the true architect of the Hale empire," Arthur replied smoothly, pulling a gold-plated cigarette case from his pocket and snapping it open. "Serena is merely a very eager student. She thought she was running the show, orchestrating your downfall and framing the little maid. But wealth of this magnitude requires a steady hand, Victor—a hand that doesn't hesitate when blood needs to be spilled."
Victor took a slow, calculated step forward, his muscles tensing. "You pushed Clara from this very balcony five years ago. You made it look like a suicide because she discovered you were siphoning the trust funds."
"And I'd do it again," Arthur smiled coldly, striking a match. "Just like we are going to dispose of your new little family tonight. The gas valves in the basement are wide open, Victor. In exactly ten minutes, a single electrical spark from the smart-home system will turn this entire mansion into a smoking crater. And the police will find your charred remains alongside a suicide note confessing to everything."
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Arthur turned toward a concealed doorway behind the bookshelf, stepping through into the shadows. "Goodbye, old friend. Enjoy the view."
The concealed door clicked shut with a heavy, final thud, leaving Victor trapped in the dark with ticking time running out.
