Chapter 8 - Fire at Whitmore House
The man with the gun was Thomas Reed, Eleanor’s private secretary.
He had worked at Whitmore House for nine years.
He knew Eleanor’s appointments, security codes, telephone numbers, and financial contacts. He had arranged Chloe’s visits and handled letters between Eleanor and Julian.
Now he stood beside the burning greenhouse with a pistol aimed at Arthur.
“Everyone back inside,” Thomas ordered.
Arthur raised his hands.
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Put down the weapon.”
Thomas laughed nervously.
“You still think people obey because you use that voice.”
“I think you are frightened and making poor decisions.”
“The decisions were made for me.”
“By Victoria?”
Thomas’s eyes moved toward the driveway.
A vehicle approached beyond the gate.
Daniel drew Claire and Lily behind a stone wall.
Thomas pointed the gun at Eleanor.
“She promised to clear my debts.”
“How much?”
“What?”
“How much did my granddaughter’s life cost?”
His face twisted.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“My son needed surgery. Insurance refused. Victoria paid.”
“And in return?”
“I gave her information.”
“What information?”
“Chloe’s schedule. Your calls. Security access.”
Eleanor’s voice softened.
“You could have asked me for help.”
Thomas’s hand trembled.
“I did.”
Eleanor searched her memory.
“You sent a request through the family assistance office.”
“It was denied.”
“I never saw it.”
“Your company decided my son wasn’t worth the expense.”
The words struck her.
Whitmore Industries had thousands of employees. Applications were reviewed by committees. Eleanor had built systems meant to appear fair, but systems had no eyes.
Victoria had found the human being that Eleanor’s system overlooked.
Then she had purchased him.
“I am sorry,” Eleanor said.
Thomas’s expression collapsed for a moment.
The approaching vehicle stopped beyond the gate.
Three men stepped out.
Thomas looked toward them.
Daniel used the distraction.
He crossed the distance in seconds, struck Thomas’s wrist, and forced the gun toward the ground.
A shot exploded.
Arthur tackled Eleanor behind a stone planter.
The men at the gate opened fire.
Security officers returned fire from the main house.
Glass shattered.
Daniel wrestled the gun away from Thomas and dragged him behind cover.
“Who are they?” he demanded.
Thomas gasped.
“Victoria’s cleanup team.”
“They came to kill all of us?”
“They came for the memory card.”
Eleanor looked toward Claire, who held the laptop beneath her coat.
“Get Lily inside!”
Arthur and Claire ran toward the servants’ entrance.
One of Victoria’s men crossed the lawn.
Eleanor seized Thomas’s fallen pistol and fired once into the stone near his feet. The attacker turned toward her.
Daniel shot him in the shoulder.
The remaining men retreated to their vehicle.
Before driving away, one threw a bottle through the library window.
Flames erupted inside.
“The evidence!” Claire shouted.
Smoke poured through the broken glass.
Daniel ran into the house.
Eleanor followed despite Arthur’s attempt to stop her.
The library curtains were burning. Fire crawled across the carpet toward Sophie’s letter and the trust documents.
Eleanor swept the papers into a leather case.
Daniel grabbed the laptop.
A beam collapsed from the ceiling.
They escaped through the corridor as the fire spread.
Outside, Thomas sat handcuffed beneath the supervision of two estate guards.
Eleanor approached him.
“Where is Chloe?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did they take Owen?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel crouched in front of him.
“Tell us what you do know.”
Thomas stared at the burning house.
“There is an underground room beneath the family mausoleum. Victoria had equipment delivered there yesterday.”
“The tunnel from Briarwood,” Daniel said.
Thomas nodded.
“What equipment?”
“A surgical table. Refrigeration units. Blood storage.”
Eleanor felt sick.
“Why blood?”
“I never asked.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“What happens at the funeral?”
“Julian completes the burial declaration. The casket enters the family vault. Victoria’s men remove Chloe through the tunnel.”
“And Eleanor?”
Thomas looked at her.
“The vault door is designed to lock from the outside.”
Eleanor understood.
“They plan to trap me inside.”
“Victoria said grief would make you insist on accompanying the casket.”
“What happens after I am locked in?”
Thomas looked down.
“Gas is released through the old ventilation system.”
Arthur cursed beneath his breath.
Daniel stood.
“We cancel the funeral.”
“No,” Eleanor said.
Everyone turned toward her.
“If we cancel, they move Chloe.”
“They are expecting to kill you.”
“Then we give them the opportunity.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You cannot save Chloe if you are dead.”
“I do not intend to die.”
Eleanor looked toward the burning greenhouse.
“Victoria believes the funeral is her stage. Tomorrow, we let her perform.”
Thomas laughed bitterly.
“You think you can defeat her?”
Eleanor turned.
“No. I think she has already defeated herself.”
“How?”
“She allowed Chloe to wake.”
Fire crews arrived twenty minutes later.
By afternoon, the flames were controlled, but the greenhouse and library were destroyed. The memory card survived because Claire had removed it before the attack.
Thomas agreed to cooperate in exchange for protection for his son.
Daniel contacted a federal investigator he trusted, Agent Mara Vance, and transmitted copies of Sophie’s evidence. Vance promised to assemble a team outside Captain Reeves’s jurisdiction.
But the earliest they could reach Briarwood was late Saturday morning.
The funeral began at ten.
Eleanor would have to keep Chloe alive until help arrived.
That evening, as the household prepared equipment and escape routes, Eleanor entered the ruined greenhouse alone.
Ash covered Chloe’s yellow rain boots.
She picked them up and held them against her chest.
Behind her, Thomas appeared under guard.
“There’s something I forgot,” he said.
Eleanor turned.
“The funeral casket has a remote locking system. Victoria controls it from her phone.”
“Can it be disabled?”
“Only from inside the hidden compartment.”
“How would anyone reach it?”
May you like
Thomas looked at the tiny boots in Eleanor’s hands.
“Only someone small enough to fit beneath the mattress platform.”
