Chapter 5 - Confrontation at the Mansion
The tires of my rented all-wheel-drive SUV screamed as I rounded the sharp curves leading up to Mason's secluded estate on Red Mountain.
Snow had begun to fall again,
thick white flakes swirling in the beam of my headlights,
mirroring the terrifying night six weeks ago.
My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird as I pushed the accelerator down,
praying I wouldn't be too late to save Claire from the ruthless madness of the Vance family.
As I pulled up to the grand stone gates of the estate,
I saw the front door of the mansion standing wide open,
warm light spilling out onto the fresh snow like a stain.
Eleanor's black SUV was parked crookedly across the driveway,
its driver-side door left open,
engine still idling.
I grabbed heavy flashlight from my glove box,
stepped out into the biting cold,
and marched straight into the house.
The grand foyer was in complete disarray.
A crystal vase lay shattered on the marble floor,
its lilies trampled into the white carpet.
"Claire!"
I called out,
my voice echoing off the high vaulted ceilings.
"Claire,
where are you?!"
From the upper level,
near the master study,
I heard the sound of heavy furniture being overturned,
followed by a sharp,
painful shriek.
I took the stairs three at a time,
my heart in my throat,
holding the heavy steel flashlight like a club.
When I burst into the study,
the scene before me made my blood run cold.
Eleanor was standing over Claire,
who was pinned against the floor near the open wall safe,
her hair disheveled,
her silk wedding dressing gown torn at the shoulder.
Eleanor was wildly trying to rip a leather folder from Claire's desperate grip,
her face contorted into a monstrous mask of rage.
"Give it to me,
you foolish girl!"
Eleanor snarled,
raising her heavy leather handbag to strike Claire across the face.
"You're going to ruin everything my son built!"
"Leave her alone!"
I roared,
stepping into the room and slamming the heavy flashlight against the mahogany desk with a deafening CRACK.
Eleanor spun around,
her eyes widening in horror as she saw me standing in the doorway,
framed by the dark night outside.
"Rachel?"
Eleanor gasped,
stumbling back a step,
releasing her grip on Claire.
"How.
.
.
how did you get here?"
"Get away from her,
Eleanor,
"
I said,
my voice trembling with a deadly rage as I stepped between her and Claire.
Claire scrambled backward,
clutching the black leather folder to her chest,
her eyes wide with terror as tears streamed down her bruised cheeks.
"You were supposed to be dead,
"
Eleanor whispered,
her composure completely breaking down as she stared at me like I was an apparition from the grave.
"You and that miserable brat were supposed to freeze on that mountain!"
"We were insurance!"
"Mason owed millions to people who don't negotiate,
and you were supposed to be our way out!"
Hearing her utter those horrific words out loud,
with no remorse,
no shame,
no motherly instinct for her own grandchild,
shattered whatever lingering humanity I thought she possessed.
"You monster,
"
I spat,
taking a menacing step forward.
"You helped him do it.
"
"You waited at the bottom of the hill while your nine-day-old granddaughter froze in the back of a car!"
"She wasn't supposed to be a Vance!"
Eleanor shrieked,
her voice breaking into a high-pitched,
insane laugh.
"She was a mistake!
Mason was supposed to marry Claire three years ago,
her father's hedge fund could have saved us!"
"But he met you—a poor schoolteacher with just enough inheritance to pay off his immediate debts,
and then you got pregnant!"
"You ruined his life first!"
"I saved his life!"
I screamed back,
my voice vibrating off the walls.
"I gave him a family!
I gave him love!"
"And you turned him into a murderer!"
Suddenly,
the sound of police sirens echoed in the distance,
their red and blue lights flashing against the snow-covered pine trees outside the study window.
I had called Marcus on the drive over,
and he had notified the state police immediately.
Eleanor's face lost every bit of color,
her insane rage instantly evaporating into sheer,
unadulterated terror.
"No.
.
.
"
she whimpered,
looking toward the window as the siren wails grew louder and louder.
"No,
they can't arrest me.
.
.
I'm Eleanor Vance!"
"You're an accomplice to attempted murder,
Eleanor,
"
I said coldly,
watching as two police cruisers slid to a halt in the driveway below.
May you like
"And your family legacy ends tonight.
"
