Chapter 3 - The Flames of the PastThe heavy iron fireplace poker in Serena’s hand gleamed ominously under the dim, flickering lights of the east tower room.
“You’re insane, Serena,” Victor said, keeping his voice deadly calm as he slowly shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, calculating the distance between them. “The entire house is wired with federal security monitors. The moment you pressed that remote, a distress signal was sent straight to the state police cyber division.”
Serena laughed—a sharp, high-pitched sound that lacked any trace of sanity. ☕ “State police? Victor, darling, look around you! This wing of the mansion is structurally isolated from the main grid. There is no cell service here, the backup generators are routed through my private control box, and by the time anyone realizes you’re missing, this entire tower will be reduced to ash.”
She flicked her wrist, tossing a small glass vial filled with a clear, highly volatile accelerant onto the stack of old wooden bookshelves lining the back wall. A sharp, chemical reek of industrial solvent instantly overpowered the scent of lavender and dust.
“Why, Serena?” Victor asked, taking one slow, calculated step forward. His eyes locked onto hers, refusing to show a shred of panic. “Eleanor was your sister. Why did you murder her? What could possibly drive you to destroy an entire family just for money?”
Serena’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, her manic expression twitching as a dark, bitter rage surged to the surface.
“Money?” Serena spat the word out like poison. “You think this was about money, Victor? Eleanor had everything! She inherited the founding shares, she married the most powerful man in the city, and she treated me like a charity case—a servant expected to be grateful for her hand-me-downs!”
She took a step closer, raising the detonator trigger higher.
“I built Vance International from the ground up while you sat in board meetings, Victor!” Serena shrieked, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. “I drafted the shipping contracts, I managed the offshore accounts, and yet my name was nowhere on the deeds! So I took what was mine. And when Eleanor started asking questions about the missing ledger balances... I simply gave her a little push into the dark. Just like I’m going to give you and that brat of yours tonight.”
Now!
With explosive speed, Victor lunged forward across the room like a striking panther, bridging the six-foot gap between them before Serena could press the trigger.
His shoulder slammed directly into her chest, knocking the heavy iron poker flying from her grip as they both crashed hard onto the Persian rug. The detonator slipped from her fingers, sliding across the polished floorboards toward the open doorway.
Serena fought like a wildcat, scratching, biting, and screaming with unnatural strength as Victor pinned her wrists to the floor.
“Get off me! Let me go!” she bellowed, thrashing violently beneath him.
Victor managed to pin her with one knee, reaching out frantically to grab the remote detonator just as a loud, metallic clatter echoed from the hallway outside.
“Mr. Vance! Get down!”
It wasn't the police. It was Lily—holding a heavy brass candelabra like a club, her dark eyes blazing with fearless determination as she stood panting in the doorway. She had left Ethan locked safely in the panic room and sprinted all the way up the west tower stairs to find him.
Before Serena could recover, Lily swung the heavy brass candelabra down in a swift, practiced arc, striking Serena squarely across the shoulder and sending her tumbling into instant unconsciousness.
The room fell dead silent, save for the crackling of a small spark catching the edge of the solvent-soaked rug near the bookshelf.
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“Lily—grab the files! We need to get out of here right now!” Victor yelled, scooping the detonator and the handful of diary pages off the floor as he hauled Serena’s limp body over his shoulder.
They sprinted down the corridor just as the west wing ceiling beams began to groan under the sudden, spreading heat of the rogue fire.
