Chapter 1 - THE FALL
“DADDY!”
Julian Vance looked up just in time to see his eight-year-old daughter falling from the second-floor balcony.
For half a second, his heart stopped.
Lily’s small body dropped through the open air of the marble foyer, her emerald-green dress twisting around her legs.
Above her stood Eleanor Vance.
Julian’s mother.
And she was smiling.
Julian ran.
He threw himself forward, hit the polished floor hard, and slid across the marble with both arms extended.
Lily slammed into his chest.
The impact knocked the breath out of him.
But he caught her.
Her head missed the marble by inches.
“Daddy!” Lily sobbed.
Julian rolled onto his side and wrapped both arms around her.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you, baby.”
She was shaking so badly her teeth clicked together.
Julian looked her over quickly.
No blood.
No broken bones that he could see.
Then he looked up.
Eleanor was descending the staircase slowly.
In one gloved hand, she held the diamond necklace she had ripped from Lily’s neck minutes earlier.
“You should’ve signed the transfer papers,” she said.
Julian stared at her.
“What did you just do?”
Eleanor stopped.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“You threw my daughter off a balcony!”
“I frightened her.”
“You tried to kill her!”
Lily clutched Julian’s jacket.
“She said she wanted me gone forever.”
Eleanor’s face hardened.
“The child lies when she wants attention.”
Julian rose carefully, keeping Lily behind him.
“She’s eight.”
“She’s also the sole beneficiary of a trust worth eighty-six million dollars.”
Julian froze.
There it was.
Not grief.
Not anger.
Money.
“You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing?” Julian asked.
Eleanor smiled.
“You know nothing.”
“I know you tried to pressure me into transferring Lily’s voting shares.”
“Those shares should never have been placed in a child’s name.”
“They were placed there by Dad.”
At the mention of Julian’s late father, Eleanor’s eyes flashed.
“Your father was weak.”
“No. He knew exactly what you were.”
The smile vanished.
Julian pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling the police.”
Eleanor laughed.
“You think they’re going to come into this house and arrest me?”
Julian pointed toward the ceiling.
“The cameras saw everything.”
For the first time, Eleanor went pale.
Then she reached toward the iron railing.
Her finger pressed a small gold button.
CLICK.
The mansion’s giant oak doors slammed shut.
Metal bolts locked into place.
Lily screamed.
The chandelier went dark.
Every light in the mansion died at once.
Julian reached for his phone.
No signal.
No Wi-Fi.
Nothing.
Then Eleanor’s voice floated through the darkness.
“You were always too much like your father, Julian.”
May you like
A second click echoed from somewhere deeper inside the house.
Then came the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being loaded.
