PART 3
Chapter 3
The click of the lock echoed down the stairwell, sharp and desperate.
I didn't rush. I didn't need to. I looked down at Melissa, who was already meticulously wrapping Lily in a thick, wool throw blanket from the armchair, tucking the edges under her small, shivering feet.
"Keep her right here," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Don't let anyone near her."
"I won't leave her side," Melissa promised, her eyes burning with a fierce, maternal anger that I instantly respected.
I pointed a single finger at the floor in front of the couch. "Buster. Guard."
The dog immediately took his post. He sat like a gargoyle at the foot of the couch, his golden eyes fixed directly on Brad and Sarah. A low, continuous growl vibrated deep in his massive chest, a sound you felt in the floorboards more than you heard. Neither Sarah nor Brad dared to take a single breath, let alone a step.
I took the stairs two at a time, my combat boots making no sound on the carpeted runner. The noise had come from the guest room at the far end of the hall.
I tried the brass knob. Locked.
From inside, I heard the frantic, electric whine of a heavy-duty paper shredder chewing through thick stock paper.
"Open it," I commanded through the wood.
The shredder only whirred louder, joined by the sound of drawers being slammed shut.
I didn't ask twice. I took a half-step back, shifting my weight, and drove the heel of my boot directly into the space beside the knob. The doorframe splintered instantly. The door flew open with a deafening crack, the doorknob leaving a deep dent in the hallway drywall.
A man I didn't recognize jumped a foot in the air. He was wearing a cheap, ill-fitting gray suit, his forehead slick with terrified sweat. He was frantically trying to shove a thick stack of blue financial folders into a portable shredder resting on a bedside table. An open laptop glowed on the bed next to him, displaying multiple banking tabs.
I crossed the room in two strides. I grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, hoisted him onto his tiptoes, and slammed him hard against the wall. The shredder choked on a jammed folder and began emitting a high-pitched whine.
"Who are you?" I demanded, pressing my forearm against his collarbone.
"I'm just a notary! I swear to God!" he stammered, his eyes bulging as he looked at my uniform, then my face. "I didn't know you were alive, man! Brad said you were a casualty! He said the kid needed a trustee to manage the estate!"
I glanced sideways at the laptop screen. It wasn't just a simple military benefit transfer. They were systematically liquidating everything. My SGLI life insurance policy, the equity on the house, and the high-yield college fund I had set up for Lily the day she was born. They were routing it all into an offshore LLC.
Sirens wailed in the distance, cutting through the heavy rain. They were growing louder by the second, bouncing off the suburban houses.
May you like
I ripped the power cord from the shredder, threw the blue folders into the black duffel bag from downstairs, and grabbed the laptop. Then, I dragged the "notary" out of the room by his belt and collar, forcing him down the stairs ahead of me.
When we reached the living room, flashing red and blue lights were already painting the living room walls through the sheer curtains.
