Chapter 12 - THE CONFRONTATIONI knew she would come for me.
I didn't go back to my apartment. I went to the one place I knew she would try to destroy next. The old family estate in Westchester. The house where the fire had happened. She had never sold it. She kept it empty, a monument to her perfect crime.
I stood in the center of the restored hallway, right outside the door to my old bedroom.
Just past midnight, the heavy front door creaked open.
Evelyn walked in. She was alone. In her hand, she held a suppressed 9mm pistol. The philanthropist mask was completely gone; the ruthless killer had finally taken the stage.
"I knew it," Evelyn said, her voice echoing in the empty house. She raised the gun, pointing it squarely at my chest. "I knew they should have let you burn."
"Hello, Mother," I said calmly, my hands resting at my sides. "You look stressed."
"You ruined everything!" she snarled, stepping closer, her finger tightening on the trigger. "The company is frozen. The SEC is raiding my offices. Jessica is in police custody confessing to attempted murder. How did you survive? I made sure the state kept you locked up!"
"You made a mistake," I said, taking a slow step toward her. "You locked me in a room with a loose floorboard. And you forgot to check the boots under the bed."
Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly. "The key."
"I have the audio, Evelyn," I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous octave. "I gave it to the district attorney an hour ago. Along with the real life insurance policies. The police know you poisoned Dad. They know you tried to burn me alive."
"They'll never take me alive," Evelyn spat, her hands shaking. "I'll kill you right here, just like I should have fifteen years ago, and I'll disappear."
"You think you're holding the power right now?" I asked, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.
I clicked a small remote in my pocket.
Suddenly, heavy steel fire shutters slammed down over the windows of the hallway. The front door electronically locked with a loud, definitive clack.
Evelyn spun around, firing a panicked shot at the door. The bullet ricocheted off the reinforced steel.
"What did you do?!" she screamed.
"I bought this house three weeks ago through a shell company," I said, stepping back into my old bedroom. "And I made some renovations. I installed smart locks. Titanium shutters. You see, Mother, I wanted you to understand exactly how it felt."
I stepped back into the bedroom and slammed the heavy oak door shut.
May you like
Click.
I locked it from the inside.
