Chapter 6 - The Hidden Safe
The cold wind howled through the oak trees, but Arthur’s words chilled me to the absolute bone.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, refusing to let my voice tremble.
Arthur laughed, a harsh, grating sound that echoed across the dark lawn.
"Your precious Richard wasn't the saint you thought he was, Eleanor," Arthur yelled back.
"Why do you think my family chose this specific estate to hide in?"
He waved the handgun toward the massive stone walls of the guest wing.
"There is a hidden wall safe in that study, and Richard owed my father a very large debt," Arthur explained.
"We aren't leaving this property until we extract exactly what belongs to us."
Arthur turned around and marched back into the dark house, his heavily armed guards following closely behind.
The heavy wooden doors slammed shut, echoing like a gunshot in the silent night.
I slowly lowered myself back behind the stone wall, my mind racing with terrifying possibilities.
My husband had always been a deeply secretive man regarding his early business ventures, but I never suspected criminal ties.
"Mom, we have to go back to the hotel," Andrew pleaded, his teeth chattering from the freezing cold.
"No," I said firmly, my eyes locked on the dark silhouette of the guest wing.
"If there is a hidden safe in that study, I am going to find it before they do."
Marcus looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind.
"Mrs. Sterling, the house is swarming with armed cartel members," Marcus warned urgently.
"They don't know about the servant tunnels," I replied, a dangerous plan forming in my head.
When we restored the 19th-century estate, we discovered a network of narrow, hidden corridors used by the original servants.
I had never told Andrew about them, and the architectural blueprints were safely locked in my bank vault.
I instructed Marcus to take Andrew back to the car and wait for exactly one hour.
If I did not return, he was to drive away and call his FBI contacts immediately.
I crept through the freezing woods until I reached the old greenhouse attached to the side of the mansion.
Beneath a heavy cast-iron floor grate was the entrance to the servant tunnels.
I slipped into the narrow, dusty corridor, using only the faint glow of my cell phone screen to guide me.
The tunnel walls were thick enough to muffle my footsteps as I navigated the labyrinth.
I finally reached the hidden panel that opened directly behind the massive bookshelf in Richard's study.
I could hear angry voices echoing from the hallway outside the study doors.
Arthur's men were tearing the room apart in the dark, desperately looking for the safe.
I waited until their heavy boots marched down the hall to search another room.
I pressed the hidden lever, and the heavy oak bookshelf swung open silently.
I stepped into the freezing study, turning on my small flashlight.
The room was completely destroyed, with priceless antique books thrown carelessly across the floor.
But they had not found the secret safe.
I walked to the massive fireplace and pressed a specific, hidden brick near the mantle.
A small section of the wood paneling popped open, revealing a heavy steel dial.
I quickly spun the combination dial, using the date of our wedding anniversary.
With a soft click, the heavy steel door swung open.
I reached inside, expecting to find stacks of dirty money or illegal bearer bonds.
Instead, my hand touched a small, beautifully carved wooden box and a single leather-bound journal.
I shoved both items into my deep coat pocket, desperate to escape before the guards returned.
Just as I turned to close the secret panel, I heard a strange, rhythmic scraping noise coming from the window.
I crept over to the glass and peered out into the moonlit garden.
Someone was out there, digging a massive hole in the frozen dirt with a heavy shovel.
I squinted through the darkness and gasped out loud.
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It was Andrew.
He had disobeyed my strict orders to stay at the car, and he was burying a blood-stained piece of clothing in my rose garden.
