Chapter 10 — The Fire
Chapter 10 — The Fire
Black smoke poured from the twenty-third floor.
Firefighters surrounded the Carter Group headquarters while employees gathered behind police barriers.
The blaze had started near the records department.
Exactly where the basement access codes were stored.
Ryan tried to enter the building.
Police stopped him.
“My family’s legal archive is inside.”
“So is an active fire.”
Samuel arrived with Emma’s certified property records.
“The original deed is important,” he said, “but destroying it won’t erase the county registration.”
Ryan looked at him.
“Then why burn the building?”
Samuel’s expression darkened.
“To destroy something else.”
The financial records.
The shell-company contracts.
Evidence connecting Victoria to the missing money.
Emma watched the live broadcast from her hospital room.
The fire was contained after two hours.
One firefighter suffered smoke inhalation, but no one died.
Investigators found signs of deliberate ignition.
Security footage showed a woman entering the building with an employee badge.
The image was grainy.
But the silver-blonde hair was unmistakable.
Victoria.
She had risked hundreds of lives to protect herself.
Ryan watched the footage beside Emma’s bed.
She had allowed him inside only because the detective requested both of them be present.
Ryan looked broken.
“My mother could have killed people.”
“She tried to make me fall down a staircase.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Emma’s voice remained quiet.
“You spent years treating her cruelty like a personality flaw. Every time someone warned you, you called them dramatic.”
Ryan’s eyes reddened.
“I became the weapon she used against both of you.”
Emma did not comfort him.
The detective entered.
“We have another development.”
He placed a sealed plastic bag on the table.
Inside was a small flash drive recovered from a fireproof safe.
“What’s on it?” Emma asked.
“Video recordings.”
One clip showed Victoria meeting Claire at a hotel two years earlier.
Victoria handed her an envelope.
Another showed Claire practicing conversations designed to make Ryan distrust Emma.
A third showed Victoria instructing Claire to create fake messages suggesting Emma had been unfaithful.
Ryan turned away from the screen.
But the worst video came last.
Victoria sat alone in front of the camera.
“If anything happens to me,” she said, “Ryan must understand that Emma destroyed this family. She manipulated Father into giving her the house. She trapped Ryan with a child. And she forced me to take corrective action.”
Emma felt sick.
“Corrective action?”
The detective paused the video.
“We believe she made these recordings as insurance.”
“Insurance against what?”
“Against Claire.”
The next clip showed Claire demanding more money.
“I did everything you asked,” she told Victoria. “I got into his bed. I made him doubt the baby. I helped you move the company funds.”
Victoria’s expression was cold.
“You were paid.”
“Not enough.”
Claire leaned closer.
“You promised me the house after Emma was gone.”
Ryan covered his face.
The detective continued the clip.
Claire smiled.
“And I kept copies of everything.”
The video ended.
Samuel looked at the detective.
“Claire is blackmailing her.”
“Yes.”
“Then Victoria isn’t fleeing with Claire,” Emma said.
The detective nodded.
“She’s hunting her.”
At that exact moment, Claire called the police.
Her voice was frantic.
“She found me.”
A crash echoed through the phone.
May you like
Then Claire screamed.
The line went dead.
