CHAPTER 10: THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE
Alexander arrived at the Adirondack estate before sunrise.
Federal agents surrounded the property but found no sign of Victoria or Voss.
The mansion stood beside a dark lake, isolated by miles of forest.
Alexander had spent his childhood summers there.
He remembered fishing with his father from the wooden dock.
He remembered Victoria watching from the veranda, always dressed perfectly, even when no guests were present.
Marcus discovered fresh tire tracks leading toward an abandoned caretaker’s house beyond the northern trees.
Inside, they found food, medical supplies, and a laptop that had been destroyed with a hammer.
They also found photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Lauren taking Sophia to school.
Sophia playing in a public park.
Lauren visiting free clinics.
Alexander entering restaurants, offices, and private homes.
Victoria had monitored all three of them for years.
One photograph showed Sophia standing outside the Grand Plaza Hotel several weeks before the birthday celebration.
Victoria had known the child was nearby.
She had known Sophia was hungry.
She had done nothing.
Alexander stared at the image until Marcus removed it from his hand.
“There’s more.”
Beneath the floorboards, agents found a metal case.
Inside were passports, cash, and a final letter written by Edward Sterling.
It was addressed to Victoria.
Alexander unfolded it.
Edward wrote that he knew about her financial manipulation.
He knew she resented Lauren.
He knew she feared losing control.
But the final paragraph was personal.
You believe power protects you from being abandoned. It does not. Every person you attempt to control eventually learns to fear you, and fear is not love. One day, you will stand inside a house filled with everything you fought to own and realize no one remains beside you.
Alexander lowered the letter.
A floorboard creaked behind him.
He turned.
Daniel Voss stood in the doorway holding a gun.
Marcus reached beneath his jacket.
Voss aimed at him.
“Don’t.”
Alexander raised his hands.
“Where is my mother?”
Voss smiled.
“She finally understood that you would never forgive her.”
“You attempted to kill Lauren.”
“That was supposed to solve the problem.”
“She survived.”
“I know.”
Voss stepped inside.
“Victoria became weak after the hospital. She wanted to surrender.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
Voss’s eyes moved toward the metal case.
“She still has access to accounts worth hundreds of millions. We can disappear.”
“She isn’t going anywhere with you.”
A voice came from the hallway.
Victoria appeared behind Voss.
She looked exhausted, her designer clothing wrinkled and stained.
But she held a second gun.
It was aimed at Voss.
“I told you,” she said, “my son was not to be harmed.”
Voss laughed.
“You lost the right to give orders.”
Victoria’s hand shook.
Alexander took one careful step forward.
“Mother, put the gun down.”
Her eyes met his.
“I never wanted this.”
“You had three years to stop it.”
“I was protecting what belonged to us.”
“Sophia belongs to us. Lauren belonged to our family.”
Victoria’s face twisted.
“Lauren was going to take you away.”
“No. You drove everyone away.”
May you like
Voss suddenly turned toward Victoria.
The gunshot thundered through the caretaker’s house.
