Chapter 5 - The Sabotage
The phone line went dead, leaving a toxic silence in the hotel room.
Vanessa’s threat to burn Richard’s priceless antique paintings ignited a fire in my soul.
I was no longer just a hurt mother dealing with a rebellious son and a cruel daughter-in-law.
I was the matriarch of Willowbrook Estate, and I was going to war.
"Marcus," I said, my voice completely devoid of any fear or hesitation.
"Contact your underground team and get me the blueprints to the estate's original electrical grid."
Marcus nodded grimly and immediately opened a secure application on his tablet.
"What are you going to do?" Andrew asked, looking at me as if I were a stranger.
"I am going to freeze them out of my house," I replied coldly.
When Richard and I restored the estate, we discovered a secondary, hidden breaker box in the underground wine cellar.
It controlled the heating, the water pumps, and the main power supply exclusively for the guest wing.
We drove back to the estate under the cover of utter darkness.
I parked the town car half a mile down the road, hidden deep within the thick line of oak trees.
Marcus, Andrew, and I walked silently through the dense woods, avoiding the main driveway entirely.
The massive estate loomed in the distance, every window in the guest wing blazing with bright light.
We reached the hidden cellar doors buried beneath the overgrown ivy on the south side of the property.
I unlocked the heavy iron padlock with my personal key, and we descended into the freezing darkness of the cellar.
I walked straight to the hidden breaker box behind the vintage wine racks.
Without a single ounce of hesitation, I pulled the massive metal lever entirely downward.
Every single light in the guest wing immediately went pitch black.
The low hum of the massive heating unit died instantly, leaving the estate in eerie silence.
"The temperature is dropping below freezing tonight," I whispered with a satisfied smirk.
"Let's see how long they enjoy their new home without heat or running water."
We snuck back out into the woods and waited patiently behind a large stone wall.
Within ten minutes, angry shouts erupted from the courtyard.
Flashlight beams pierced the darkness as Arthur’s heavily armed men began searching the perimeter.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden front doors swung open aggressively.
Arthur marched out onto the manicured lawn, holding a blazing wooden torch in his hand.
Behind him, two men were dragging a massive, ornate canvas out of the house.
It was my late husband's favorite 18th-century landscape painting.
"Eleanor!" Arthur roared into the darkness, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the estate.
"I know you are out there watching this!"
He threw the painting onto the cold grass and lowered the flaming torch dangerously close to the canvas.
"Turn the power back on right now, or I burn this to ash!" he threatened.
Andrew whimpered beside me, terrified of the violent monster he had brought into our lives.
I stood up from behind the stone wall, stepping into the dim moonlight so Arthur could see me.
"Burn it," I shouted back, my voice completely steady and fearless.
Arthur paused, clearly shocked by my absolute refusal to negotiate with a terrorist.
"It is a replica," I lied smoothly, knowing full well it was the priceless original.
"The real one is locked in a vault in New York, you ignorant thug."
Arthur growled in frustration and kicked the painting viciously across the lawn.
He reached into his heavy coat, pulled out a black handgun, and pointed it directly at my chest.
"You think you are so smart, Eleanor," Arthur yelled, walking aggressively toward my hiding spot.
Marcus raised his own weapon, ready to end Arthur's life if he took one more step.
But Arthur stopped suddenly and smiled a deeply disturbing, wicked smile.
"You think you know everything about this estate and your perfect husband," Arthur sneered loudly.
May you like
He lowered his gun slightly, pointing it at the dirt beneath his feet.
"Did Richard ever tell you what he buried in the walls of the guest wing to pay for this beautiful house?"
