Chapter 8 - The Total Blackout
Liam realized that the kidnapping was nothing more than a cruel distraction to get him out of the mansion.
He carried Chloe out to the sports car, buckled her safely into the passenger seat, and locked the doors.
He drove at terrifying speeds back toward the estate, running every red light on the empty coastal highway.
He needed to stop Claire from transferring the billions of dollars stored in the family's offshore accounts.
He dialed the mansion's main phone line, but the automated system stated that all communications were disconnected.
Claire had completely isolated the estate from the outside world to execute her final robbery.
Liam arrived at the wrought-iron gates and found them locked tight, forcing him to ram his expensive car directly through them.
He told Chloe to stay hidden on the floorboard of the car while he dealt with the monster inside.
Liam walked to the exterior breaker box hidden behind the rose garden and ripped the heavy metal door open.
He grabbed a heavy wrench and smashed the main power conduits, instantly plunging the massive mansion into total darkness.
If Claire was using the estate's main computer servers to wire the money, cutting the power would abort the massive transaction.
He quietly unlocked the kitchen door and slipped into the pitch-black hallways of his own home.
The silence in the dark mansion was completely suffocating, broken only by the sound of rain hitting the glass windows.
Liam navigated the familiar corridors blindly, moving like a predator hunting its prey in the dark.
He finally reached the grand salon, where a single, flickering emergency light illuminated the center of the room.
Claire was standing near the grandfather clock, illuminated by the eerie yellow glow.
May you like
She was holding a loaded silver handgun, and the barrel was pressed directly against Eleanor's trembling head.
"Turn the power back on right now, Liam, or I will paint this beautiful floor with your grandmother," Claire demanded coldly.
