Chapter 15: The Sister's Ledger
Chapter 15: The Sister's Ledger
"Don't move," Marcus’s voice boomed from the doorway behind me, his hand resting firmly on his holstered firearm. "Hands where I can see them."
Vanessa didn't look at him. Her eyes remained locked on mine, filled with a deep, systemic hatred that had been brewing for over thirty years. "Always hiding behind men, Claire. First Ethan, then the cops, now a hired gun. You never could face me on your own."
"You threw me down a flight of stairs while I was pregnant, Vanessa," I said, my voice shaking with rage as I stepped closer, ignoring Marcus’s warning hand on my shoulder. "You don't get to talk about courage. Why are you here? Why are you tracking my family?"
"Because she left it to him," Vanessa hissed, slamming the leather pouch against the metal table in the center of the room. "Mom left everything to your brat. I spent two years rotting in a cell while you lived in luxury on her guilt money! She was my mother, Claire. She belonged to me. You were just the parasite who took her attention away."
"She hid the money from you because she was terrified of you!" I yelled, the sound bouncing violently off the steel walls. "She knew you were a criminal! She knew you were insane!"
"She loved me!" Vanessa screamed, her face twisting into the exact same mask of fury I had seen right before she shoved me. "She loved me so much she died trying to give me this key! The nurse brought it to me the day I got out. This is my inheritance. This is my ticket to a new life."
"There is no new life, Vanessa," I said, pointing at the documents in her hand. "The feds know about this box. They’re on their way right now. If you walk out that door with that money, you're going back to prison for the rest of your life."
Vanessa looked down at the money, then back at me. The manic energy in her eyes suddenly died down, replaced by a cold, calculating stillness that was infinitely more terrifying.
"I'm not going back," she said softly.
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Before Marcus could react, Vanessa reached into the pocket of her raincoat. She didn't pull out a gun. She pulled out a small, black remote control with a single red button.
"You think I came here just for the cash?" she whispered, her finger hovering over the switch. "I know your security team is good, Claire. But Vince—the guy you left at your house? He used to work for my ex-husband’s old firm. He answers to the highest bidder now. And right now, he’s standing in your son’s bedroom."
