Part 26
"Call the police, Arthur. Now," I whispered, keeping my finger off the intercom button.
Arthur was already dialing, his face pale as he spoke rapidly into his phone, relaying our coordinates and the imminent threat.
"They're deploying units," Arthur said, hanging up. "But with the storm washing out the coastal road, it will take them at least twenty minutes to get up the cliff."
Twenty minutes. It felt like an eternity when a lunatic was standing outside our door.
I pressed the intercom button again, desperate to buy us some time.
"Julian, the foundation money is legally protected. It’s held by an independent board. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I can't. I don't have the legal authority."
"Lies!" Julian roared, his casual demeanor instantly vanishing, replaced by a terrifying, erratic rage.
He slammed his heavy cane against the iron bars of the gate, the sound echoing through the speaker.
"You are the sole beneficiary! Your father built it for you! Do not play games with me, girl! I spent forty years in a concrete hell because of your mother! I will not be denied my birthright by her pathetic child!"
He stepped back from the gate, disappearing into the darkness and the sheets of blinding rain.
"Arthur, where did he go?" I asked, looking frantically at the tablet screen.
The camera feed showed empty gravel. He had moved out of the primary camera's blind spot.
Suddenly, a loud, heavy thud echoed from the rear of the cottage.
My heart leaped into my throat. The back terrace.
"He bypassed the gate," Arthur said, his hand reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a small, legal firearm he kept for personal protection.
"Stay here. Lock yourself in Charlotte's room."
"No, Arthur, you can't go out there alone!" I protested, but he was already moving toward the back hallway with a determined expression.
Before he could reach the door, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the house, followed by the high-pitched, piercing blare of the security alarm.
The power suddenly cut out, plunging the cottage into absolute darkness, save for the flashing red emergency lights of the security console.
Charlotte let out a terrified scream from her bedroom.
The motherly instinct inside me completely overrode my fear. I ran past Arthur, rushing down the dark hallway into Charlotte's room.
She was sitting up in bed, crying, clutching Mr. Buttons to her chest.
I threw my arms around her, pulling her off the bed and shoving her into the small closet, pulling the heavy wooden door shut behind us.
"Shh, baby, look at me," I whispered, holding her face in the dim red glow of the emergency lights.
"You need to be completely quiet. Like a little mouse. No matter what you hear, do not come out. Do you understand me?"
May you like
She nodded tearfully, clamping her small hands over her mouth.
I kissed her forehead, stepped out of the closet, and closed the door completely, turning around to face the dark room, ready to defend her with my life.
