Chapter 3 - The Hostage Video
The dark sedan stopped right at the edge of our lawn.
The man in the driver's seat did not point the gun at us.
He rested the weapon casually on the window sill.
His eyes were cold, dead, and entirely focused on Daniel.
Diane quickly scurried out of the way, hiding behind her own car parked on the street.
The man introduced himself as Vance.
He told Daniel that he had exactly two hours to deliver the clear title to the estate.
If the paperwork wasn't finalized by midnight, Vance promised to burn our house down with us inside.
Daniel stepped in front of me, shielding me from the weapon.
He told Vance that his identity had been stolen and he didn't owe him a dime.
Vance chuckled dryly and shook his head.
He said he didn't care whose name was actually on the loan application.
He only cared that a multi-million dollar property was promised to him, and he intended to take it.
I yelled at Vance that my grandmother left that house to me, and I would never sign it over.
Vance’s expression hardened into a terrifying scowl.
He pulled a tablet from the passenger seat and tossed it onto our front lawn.
The tablet landed in the wet grass, its screen glowing brightly in the dark.
Vance ordered me to pick it up and look at the screen.
I slowly stepped off the porch, my legs shaking with every step.
I picked up the cold glass device and looked at the video playing on a loop.
It was a live stream from a dark, damp basement.
My father was tied to a wooden chair in the center of the room.
His face was bruised, his lip was bleeding, and he looked absolutely terrified.
Vance said he had picked my dad up right after the Christmas dinner.
He explained that Diane's little forgery mistake had cost my dad his freedom.
Vance put the car in drive and looked at me one last time.
He said my father would be executed at midnight if I didn't sign the deed.
The sedan sped away into the night, leaving us standing in the cold.
I ran back to the porch and showed Daniel the video stream.
Tears streamed down my face as I realized Diane had known about this the entire time.
Daniel stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing as he studied the background of the basement.
He tapped the screen to pause the live video.
He zoomed in on a small, unique electrical panel visible on the concrete wall behind my father.
Daniel looked at me with a mix of confusion and pure dread.
He said my dad wasn't being held by loan sharks in some random warehouse.
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He recognized that electrical panel from a home inspection report he helped my dad with years ago.
My dad was being held captive inside my grandmother's house.
