Chapter 15 - The Cold Unmasking
Arthur Vance did not flinch, nor did he run toward the door.
Instead, he let out a dry, rattling laugh that sent a shiver through the room.
"Mark Sterling," Arthur said smoothly, leaning both hands heavily upon his polished cane.
"You have your mother's stubborn eyes, and your late wife's foolish sentimental heart."
"Your game is over, Arthur," Mark said, standing up to his full height.
"The accounts are frozen, Julian is locked in a county cell, and Victoria will spend forty years behind bars."
"Your poison didn't finish off my family."
"Lily is safe, and you are going to prison for first-degree murder."
Arthur chuckled again, shaking his head with genuine pity.
"You really are blind, Mark," Arthur whispered, taking a slow step forward.
"You think Julian and Victoria were the only ones I placed in your life?"
"You think I would trust two impulsive, greedy children with a forty-million-dollar empire?"
At that exact moment, Mark’s private phone began to ring loudly in his breast pocket.
Detective Reynolds burst through the VIP doors, weapon drawn, aiming straight at Arthur Vance.
"Arthur Vance, don't move! You are under arrest!" Reynolds shouted.
Arthur calmly raised his hands, a terrifying, triumphant smirk spreading across his wrinkled face.
"Answer your phone, Mark," Arthur mocked softly. "Go ahead. See who is calling you."
With a sudden knot of dread tightening in his stomach, Mark pulled the phone from his pocket.
The caller ID showed his private home security system intercom.
Mark pressed answer, holding the phone to his ear with trembling fingers.
"Daddy?" Lily's voice whimpered through the speaker, crying uncontrollably.
"Daddy, the lady said we have to go on a trip now... she won't let me out of the car!"
Before Mark could scream her name, a calm, chilling woman's voice took over the line.
It wasn't Victoria.
It was Mrs. Higgins—or rather, the woman who had pretended to be a terrified nanny for three long weeks.
"You caught the old man, Mark," the woman's voice whispered silkily into his ear.
"Just like we planned for you to do."
"If you ever want to see your daughter breathe again, tell the police to let Arthur walk out those front doors."
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"You have exactly twenty minutes before I drive onto the interstate."
The call went dead, and the bank vault fell into a suffocating, terrifying silence.
