Chapter 4 - The Hidden Safe
A heavy, suffocating silence descended upon the living room following my brutal declaration.
Julian stared at me, completely horrified by my utter lack of mercy.
"Elena, please, I am your husband," he begged miserably, his voice cracking with fear.
"You signed the divorce papers at the airport, remember?" I reminded him sharply.
The Russian thug seemed highly amused by the bitter domestic hostility playing out before him.
He lowered his weapon slightly and chuckled darkly beneath his thick black ski mask.
"You are a very cold woman, Elena," the ruthless intruder noted with a hint of respect.
"But our powerful boss does not care about your petty marital problems."
He aggressively shoved me aside and pressed the gun against Chloe's trembling head instead.
"Open the safe, or the new girlfriend and the baby die right here," he commanded violently.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked at the innocent child crying desperately in Chloe's arms.
I hated Julian with a burning passion, and I despised Chloe for what she had done, but I would never let an infant get hurt.
I took a deep, calming breath and walked slowly toward the dark hallway.
"The safe is under the floorboards beneath my mother-in-law's bed," I admitted quietly.
Julian sighed in immense relief, wiping the heavy, disgusting sweat from his pale brow.
The armed thugs aggressively forced all of us to march upstairs into Eleanor's old master bedroom.
The room still smelled faintly of dried lavender and the harsh medical antiseptics we had used for years.
I knelt beside the heavy oak bed frame and pulled back the edge of the large floral rug.
Using a small silver key from my pocket, I carefully pried up a loose wooden floorboard.
Beneath the thick dust and old insulation lay a solid steel lockbox.
The Russian intruder shoved me aside again and aggressively yanked the heavy box out of its hidden compartment.
He used the solid butt of his rifle to smash the primitive lock until it snapped open violently.
Julian leaned forward eagerly, fully expecting to see tall stacks of hundred-dollar bills or solid gold bars.
Instead, the heavily armed thug pulled out a single, dusty manila folder.
He flipped it open, his intense eyes rapidly scanning the thick legal documents inside.
A terrifying, murderous scowl formed slowly beneath his dark ski mask.
"What is this nonsense?" the thug demanded furiously, waving the papers in the air.
"These are Julian's original, unmodified life insurance policies."
I took a cautious step back toward the bedroom door, feeling a massive surge of adrenaline course through my veins.
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"Eleanor secretly changed the policies right before she died," I explained loudly to the entire room.
"They are worth twenty million dollars, but they only pay out if Julian is murdered."
