Chapter 8 - THE ROOM BENEATH THE POOL HOUSE
Chadworth was outside before Marcus could stop him.
The pool house sat two hundred yards behind the mansion.
Closed for renovation.
Or so Chadworth had been told.
Sabina had suggested the work.
She had even chosen the contractor.
Now he realized he had never seen anyone actually renovating it.
Marcus caught up.
“Wait for officers.”
“No.”
“Chad.”
It was the first time Marcus used his first name.
That made him stop.
“We do this carefully.”
Chadworth nodded.
They entered together.
Dust covered the main room.
Furniture stacked against the walls.
Nothing looked unusual.
Then Lorelai pointed toward the changing area.
“There.”
A built-in cabinet.
Marcus opened it.
Shelves.
Towels.
Cleaning supplies.
Lorelai reached behind the lowest shelf.
Pressed something.
Click.
The entire unit released from the wall.
Behind it was a narrow metal staircase.
Chadworth stared.
“What the hell?”
Marcus drew his weapon.
They went down.
The smell hit first.
Bleach.
Metal.
Something chemical.
At the bottom was a small room painted dark blue.
A table.
Two chairs.
A locked cabinet.
A cot.
And a camera mounted in one corner.
Chadworth felt rage rise again.
“You were locked in here?”
Lorelai nodded.
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hours?”
She nodded again.
He crouched and hugged her.
“I’m sorry.”
She stiffened.
Then hugged him back.
“No, Dad.”
“Yes.”
His voice cracked.
“I should have known.”
“You were working.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
Behind them, Marcus opened the cabinet.
“Chad.”
Inside were medications.
Sedatives.
Empty prescription bottles.
Some labeled in Elizabeth’s name.
Chadworth stared.
“They kept these?”
Marcus looked at expiration dates.
“Some are four years old.”
Nina arrived ten minutes later with a forensic team.
She took one look around.
“This changes things.”
They photographed everything.
Bagged medications.
Removed the camera.
Then a technician examined the wall behind the cot.
“There’s something here.”
A loose panel.
He pulled it away.
Inside was a stack of folders.
Financial records.
Copies of Chadworth’s signature.
Medical histories.
Travel schedules.
Detailed notes about the daughters.
Temperament.
Allergies.
School routes.
Even emotional triggers.
Lorelai: “Fear of being abandoned.”
Gemma: “Responds to threats involving father.”
Chadworth nearly tore the page in half.
Nina stopped him.
“Evidence.”
He let go.
Then they found another folder.
It was labeled:
PHASE THREE.
Nina opened it.
The first page contained a timeline.
Elizabeth’s death.
Sabina’s introduction into Chadworth’s social circle.
Dating.
Engagement.
Marriage target.
Medical event.
Temporary incapacity.
Guardianship transfer.
Trust restructuring.
Chadworth read the words twice.
“Medical event?”
Nina turned the page.
Planned date.
That weekend.
His fake Canada trip had accidentally landed two days before they intended to act.
Marcus looked at him.
“They were going to do this even if you hadn’t staged the trip.”
Nina nodded.
“The Canada story may have accelerated them.”
Chadworth turned another page.
There was a photograph of his private jet.
A route map.
A list of airports.
And one final instruction.
“Following stabilization, subject to be transported to private recovery facility.”
Chadworth looked at Nina.
“Where?”
She turned the page.
No address.
Only coordinates.
Marcus entered them into his phone.
His face changed.
“What?”
He showed them the location.
Northern Vermont.
Remote.
Wooded.
Near the Canadian border.
Then Lorelai spoke behind them.
“That’s where Sabina said Daddy was going.”
Everyone turned.
“What?”
“She told Mr. Crane you wouldn’t really make it to Canada.”
Chadworth stared at the map.
And finally understood.
May you like
The fake trip had been his trap.
But Sabina already had a trap waiting for him.
