Chapter 5 - THE FIRE IN ALBANY
The smoke smelled chemical.
Aaron covered Elena’s mouth with his jacket sleeve.
He called emergency services.
The signal failed.
Someone had jammed the building.
Flames spread beneath the storage-unit doors.
The records inside would burn within minutes.
Elena grabbed Jonathan’s letter and the restitution agreement.
Aaron lifted two boxes containing the financial evidence.
They moved toward the rear wall.
There were no windows.
The only exit was already surrounded by fire.
Elena saw a red pipe running along the ceiling.
“Sprinklers.”
Aaron looked up.
The sprinkler heads had been covered with plastic caps.
The fire had been planned.
Elena grabbed a metal chair and struck the nearest head.
Water burst across the ceiling.
Aaron broke two more.
The spray slowed the flames but did not stop them.
A narrow maintenance panel stood behind the final row of units.
Elena pulled at it.
Locked.
Aaron fired twice into the latch.
The door opened into a service tunnel.
They carried the evidence through darkness as the storage room burned behind them.
The tunnel ended near the loading dock.
A man waited beside a gray van.
He raised a gun.
Aaron fired first.
The bullet struck the man’s shoulder.
He dropped the weapon and ran.
Elena recognized him.
He had stood beside Victoria at every family gala for three years.
His name was David Crane.
Officially, he managed charitable events.
In reality, he handled problems Victoria wanted removed.
Police caught him before he reached the road.
Inside the van, investigators found gasoline, forged passports, and photographs of Elena.
One photograph showed her leaving the county courthouse.
Another showed her visiting Jonathan’s grave.
A third showed her standing beside Aaron two weeks earlier.
Victoria had been watching her long before the necklace accusation.
David refused to speak.
Then officers found a burner phone inside his coat.
The most recent message had been sent by Victoria.
BURN EVERYTHING.
LEAVE NO MERCER RECORDS.
Aaron copied the message.
“This ties her directly to the fire.”
Elena looked at the smoke rising above the building.
“Only if we find her.”
Victoria’s attorney issued a statement that afternoon.
He claimed Victoria had fled because Elena’s detective friend was conducting an illegal vendetta.
He accused Elena of fabricating the security footage to seize Langley Industries.
News channels repeated the statement.
Some commentators questioned Elena’s marriage.
Others called the restitution agreement suspicious.
Victoria understood public doubt.
She did not need everyone to believe her.
She only needed them uncertain enough to hesitate.
At Ashcroft Manor, the board of Langley Industries held an emergency meeting.
Arthur Langley, Victoria’s cousin, presented a petition declaring Elena mentally unstable.
He cited her accusation that Victoria murdered two people.
He demanded temporary control of Elena’s voting shares until a psychiatric review could be completed.
Elena entered the boardroom carrying Jonathan’s letter.
The directors stared.
Arthur smiled.
“You are not authorized to attend.”
Elena placed the restitution agreement on the table.
“I own thirty-two percent of this company.”
Several directors exchanged looks.
Arthur’s smile disappeared.
The company attorney examined the document.
“It appears valid.”
Arthur leaned toward him.
“Appearances can be forged.”
A video screen activated at the end of the room.
Victoria appeared from an unknown location.
She wore pearls and a cream suit.
“Do not listen to her,” she said.
“She murdered my brother.”
The boardroom erupted.
Elena stared at the screen.
May you like
Victoria smiled.
Then she played a recording of Elena standing over Jonathan’s body.
