Chapter 9 - The Missing Heir
Clara backed away across the cold concrete floor, her eyes locked entirely on the gleaming scalpel in Edward's hand.
The terrifying medical equipment in the room finally triggered a massive, rushing flood of suppressed memories.
She vividly remembered being forcefully strapped to that exact hospital bed a year ago.
She remembered Vivian standing over her, wearing a sterile surgical mask and holding a syringe.
Vivian had not been trying to murder her; Vivian had been desperately trying to save her from Edward's lethal poison.
Vivian was the one who dragged Clara out of the burning house and hid her away in the charity hospital.
Edward had orchestrated the entire fire because Clara had discovered his massive criminal empire.
"You set the fire," Clara whispered, her voice shaking with absolute, undeniable clarity.
"You tried to burn me and Noah alive to cover up your illegal offshore accounts."
Edward laughed harshly, tossing the sharp scalpel casually onto the metal tray.
"You finally remember the truth, which makes this reunion so much more enjoyable," Edward sneered.
He walked over to a massive metal cabinet and pulled out a heavy coil of thick nylon rope.
Clara knew she absolutely could not let him tie her to that terrifying bed again.
She aggressively grabbed a heavy oxygen tank from the corner of the room and swung it with all her strength.
The heavy metal cylinder violently smashed directly into Edward's knees, shattering his bones with a sickening crack.
Edward screamed in pure agony, collapsing heavily onto the concrete floor and dropping the rope.
Clara did not hesitate for a single second.
She desperately scrambled up the wooden stairs, her heart hammering frantically against her bruised ribs.
She completely bypassed the locked steel door by crawling through the narrow ventilation shaft she remembered from her past.
She dropped heavily onto the kitchen floor, panting wildly as she searched for a weapon.
She needed to find Marcus and get Noah completely out of this cursed, deadly mansion.
She ran frantically into the grand foyer, expecting to find the loyal bodyguard waiting for her.
Instead, she found Marcus lying completely unconscious in a massive pool of dark blood on the marble floor.
Clara gasped in terror, dropping to her knees to frantically check his faint, shallow pulse.
She slowly looked up and saw the front doors of the estate standing completely wide open.
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A small, terrifying ransom note was perfectly pinned to the expensive wooden doorframe with a sharp hunting knife.
It read: "If you ever want to see your precious son alive again, you will bring me the offshore account passwords."
