Chapter 11 - Midnight Reckoning
The news of Evelyn's release sent a fresh shockwave of anxiety through our small circle. "Who posted her bail?" I demanded, standing up immediately. "Two million dollars isn't a sum someone just throws around anonymously!"
Clara pulled out a piece of paper from the envelope. "The bail bond was underwritten by a shell corporation registered in Delaware called 'Apex Capital.' Richard looked into it—Apex Capital is owned by Marcus Thorne."
My stomach dropped. Marcus Thorne was a notorious, predatory real estate tycoon and my father's fiercest corporate enemy. Years ago, Thorne had tried to destroy Vance Enterprises through predatory loans, but my father had managed to fend him off. It was clear now: Thorne had bailed Evelyn out not to save her, but to use her intimate knowledge of our company assets to launch a hostile takeover.
"She's weaponizing our family's downfall," I muttered, pacing the room. "Thorne wants Vance Enterprises, and Evelyn is desperate enough to sell us out to our worst enemy just to get revenge on us."
"Mark, you have to be careful," Anna pleaded, clutching Lily closer. "She has nothing left to lose now."
"I won't let her touch this family again," I said firmly. "Clara, stay here with Anna and the baby. I've hired round-the-clock private security guards for this floor. No one gets near this room without my authorization."
I left the hospital and drove straight to our home in Oak Creek. The house was quiet, the broken patio door temporarily boarded up by contractors. I sat in my study, surrounded by blueprints and financial files, preparing for the corporate warfare Thorne and Evelyn were about to unleash.
At precisely 11:30 PM, the lights in the house flickered and went dark.
I stood up from my desk, my heart thumping against my ribs. I grabbed a heavy iron flashlight from the drawer. Through the window, I saw that the streetlights outside were still shining—only my house had lost power. Someone had cut the main breaker box outside.
A faint sound echoed from the dark hallway downstairs: the creak of a heavy footstep.
"Who's there?" I called out, my voice echoing in the pitch-black house.
No answer. Only the slow, deliberate sound of footsteps mounting the wooden staircase.
I stepped out onto the landing, shining the flashlight beam down the stairs. Standing at the bottom of the steps was a man in a dark coat—Frank Vance, Evelyn's dirty private investigator. Beside him stood Evelyn herself, dressed in a rain cloak, her face shadowed and pale like a vengeful ghost.
"I told you, Mark," Evelyn whispered, her voice echoing unnaturally in the dark stairwell. "When that woman destroys your life, you don't come crawling back to me. Now... you're going to hand over those audio tapes, or Frank here is going to ensure you never walk again."
Frank Vance stepped up the first three stairs, pulling a heavy steel crowbar from inside his coat.
"You're insane, Evelyn!" I yelled, shining the blinding light directly into Frank's eyes. "Breaking into my home twice in three days? You're going to prison for life!"
"Thorne owns the judges in this county, Mark!" Evelyn laughed hysterically. "By tomorrow morning, Vance Enterprises will belong to Apex Capital, and you will be broke, ruined, and forgotten!"
"Not tonight," I said coldly.
I reached behind the hallway pillar and slammed my hand down on the red emergency distress button I had installed two days prior. Instantly, deafening 120-decibel security alarms blared throughout the house, red emergency strobe lights flashing wildly against the walls.
Simultaneously, the front door was kicked open with a massive crash.
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"POLICE! HANDS IN THE AIR! DON'T MOVE!"
Four heavily armed police officers, tipped off by the automatic silent alarm triggered when the breaker was cut, swarmed into the foyer with flashlights and drawn weapons.
