Chapter 5 - The Glass House Crumbles
Catherine slowly lowered her hairbrush, her eyes narrowing into cold slits. "Noah, darling, you're overwrought. Go back to bed. You have exams on Monday."
"I saw the security tapes, Mother!" Noah shouted, stepping closer, pointing a finger at his own family. "You locked her in the cold vault! She’s going to freeze to death down there! How could you do this? She’s our sister! She’s Dad’s daughter!"
Mason set his scotch glass down with a heavy thud, his expression hardening. "She’s a threat to everything we own, Noah! Don't be stupid. If she gets forty percent, our inheritance is gutted. Mother did what had to be done to protect us. To protect you."
"I don't want blood money!" Noah screamed. He lunged toward the vanity, reaching for the small velvet box where the master keys were kept.
Mason instantly tackled his younger brother, throwing him onto the plush rug. The two brothers wrestled violently, knocking over a crystal lamp that shattered across the floor. Catherine stood up, screaming at them to stop, her perfect composure completely disintegrating into panic.
BANG!
The master suite doors were thrown open so violently they cracked against the drywall.
Grant Whitmore stood in the doorway, drenched from the rain, his eyes wild with a terrifying, apocalyptic rage. Behind him stood three uniformed Philadelphia police officers, their hands resting on their holsters.
"Grant!" Catherine gasped, her voice instantly shifting into a desperate, innocent plea. "Thank goodness you're back! Noah has gone completely mad, he’s attacking Mason—"
"Shut your mouth, Catherine," Grant growled, his voice vibrating with absolute disgust. He stepped into the room, revealing the IT director standing behind the police officers. "The cybersecurity breach was a fake, Mason. Your assistant confessed everything the moment my security team questioned him. He told me you ordered the diversion. Where is my daughter?"
Catherine stepped back, her face turning completely translucent. "Grant, please, she’s trying to destroy us—"
Noah broke free from Mason's grip, scrambling to his feet, tears streaming down his face. "Dad! She’s in the old cold-storage vault in the west cellar! They locked her in three hours ago! She's freezing to death!"
Grant’s face twisted into an expression of pure horror. "Officers, arrest them," he ordered blindly before turning on his heels and sprinting toward the basement faster than he had ever run in his life.
The police officers instantly drew their handcuffs, pinning a cursing Mason to the floor and securing Catherine’s wrists behind her back despite her shrill, desperate screams of outrage.
Down in the dark cellar, Elena had sunk completely into unconsciousness, her body shivering violently on the freezing concrete. Suddenly, the heavy iron door was thrown open with a violent crash. Bright light flooded the room.
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Grant rushed inside, lifting his daughter into his arms. He wrapped his heavy woolen coat around her, lifting her close to his chest as Noah arrived right behind him with warm blankets.
"I've got you, Elena," Grant wept, kissing her cold forehead as he carried her out of the dark vault and into the light. "I'm so sorry. I've got you now. You're safe."
