Chapter 6 - The Accomplice
The house was hauntingly quiet after the Sterlings left. Julian sat at the kitchen table, his head buried in his hands. He had won the battle, but the war was far from over.
Arthur placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “What happens now?”
“Now, we wait,” Julian said, his voice exhausted. “Richard has forty-eight hours to deliver the dashcam footage and his confession. If he doesn't, the financial trigger pulls automatically.”
But Julian had underestimated the depths of Madeline’s depravity.
Later that evening, Julian’s phone buzzed. It was an unknown number. When he answered, a distorted, muffled voice spoke through the speaker.
“You think you’ve outsmarted them, Julian? You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Julian frowned, putting the phone on speaker so his parents could hear. “Who is this?”
“Someone who knows what really happened that night on the canyon road. Madeline didn't act alone. She was the driver, yes. But she didn't know Clara was going to be on that road. Someone tipped her off. Someone who hated Clara just as much.”
The line went dead.
Julian stared at the phone, his heart pounding against his ribs. Clara had been a saint. Who else could have possibly wanted her dead?
Eleanor looked at her son, her maternal instincts screaming that the danger was already inside the house. “Julian… who was Clara’s roommate in college?”
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Julian’s eyes widened in sheer horror. “Chloe. It was Chloe.”
Chloe was Julian’s current executive assistant. The woman who had helped him orchestrate the financial trap against the Sterlings. The woman who had access to all of his files.
