Chapter 7 - THE FRAME JOB
Arthur was prepared.
He caught Victoria’s wrist mid-air, the silver brush clattering to the carpet. He twisted her arm behind her back with a firm, practiced grip, pinning her against the edge of the bed.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked, kicking wildly. "Help! Someone help me! He's trying to kill me!"
The door to the bedroom rattled.
"Daddy?"
It was Emma’s voice, small and trembling with terror from the hallway. The noise of the struggle had awakened her.
"Emma, stay back!" Arthur called out, his grip on Victoria tightening. "Go back to your room and lock the door!"
"Oh, yes, Emma!" Victoria screamed maliciously. "Look at what your father is doing to me! He’s a monster! Just like he was to your mother!"
"Shut up!" Arthur roared.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed from the first floor.
Victoria’s eyes flared with a sudden, desperate hope. She had not been working alone. To manage the logistics of the poisoning and the subsequent covering of tracks, she had employed the services of her brother, Julian—a man with a long criminal record who had been living off the monthly allowances Victoria funneled to him from the Sterling household accounts.
Julian had been waiting in the gardens, tasked with retrieving Victoria’s bags if things went wrong. Hearing the screams, he had broken through the French doors of the study.
"Julian!" Victoria screamed at the top of her lungs. "In here! He’s trying to kill me!"
Heavy, rapid footsteps pounded up the grand staircase.
Arthur knew he couldn't protect Emma and hold Victoria at the same time. He released his grip on his wife, stepping back toward the bedroom door to shield his daughter.
Victoria scrambled off the bed, grabbing her leather duffel bag.
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The bedroom door was violently kicked from the outside, the wood splintering around the lock. Julian—a tall, rough-looking man in a dark leather jacket—burst into the room, a heavy iron tire iron clutched in his hand.
"Get the kid," Victoria commanded, her face twisted in desperation as she pointed toward the hallway where Emma stood shivering in her pajamas. "If we have the kid, he won't call the cops."
