Chapter 14 - The Lake House Intrusion
I drove through the winding, treacherous mountain roads under the cover of absolute darkness. The old family lake house had been entirely abandoned since my mother’s death, left to rot in the deep woods because Thomas was too cowardly to ever step foot inside it again.
I parked my car a mile down the dirt road, grabbing a heavy, high-grade medical emergency bag from my trunk. It wasn't exactly a weapon, but my time in the chaotic emergency room had taught me how to improvise perfectly under extreme pressure.
I approached the massive log cabin silently, using the thick pine trees for cover. Through the front windows, I could see the bright, sweeping beams of heavy tactical flashlights. Evelyn’s hired fixers were already inside, violently tearing the beautiful cabin apart in their desperate search for the hidden hard drive.
I crept around to the back of the house, bypassing the shattered glass doors, and slipped quietly into the kitchen. I could hear two men communicating in low, professional voices in the upstairs hallway.
Arthur had told me the hard drive was hidden in a false bottom beneath the heavy cast-iron bathtub in the master bathroom. I had to get upstairs without alerting the armed men.
I opened my medical bag and pulled out a portable, high-voltage automated external defibrillator (AED). I quickly stripped the safety pads off the heavy wiring, exposing the raw electrical leads.
As I silently climbed the wooden stairs, one of the massive corporate thugs stepped out onto the landing, holding a suppressed pistol. He spotted me instantly, raising his weapon with cold, practiced precision.
"Don't move a single muscle, doctor," the thug whispered dangerously.
I didn't freeze. I lunged forward with explosive speed, slamming the exposed AED wires directly into the side of his thick neck. I slammed the shock button simultaneously. A massive, incapacitating surge of electricity blasted through his nervous system. The man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed heavily onto the wooden floorboards, entirely unconscious.
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The second thug rushed out of the master bedroom, alarmed by the heavy thud. Before he could raise his weapon, I grabbed a heavy iron fire poker from the hallway display and swung it with all my strength, catching him squarely in the kneecap. He screamed in agony, dropping his gun. I swiftly kicked the weapon down the stairs and locked him out on the balcony.
Breathing heavily, I rushed into the master bathroom. I grabbed a crowbar left behind by the thugs and aggressively pried up the wooden floorboards beneath the claw-foot tub. Deep in the dust and shadows, my fingers brushed against a heavy, cold metal lockbox. I pulled it out, entirely victorious. I had my mother's legacy.
