Chapter 5 - THE FOOTSTEPS AT MIDNIGHTThe door opened slowly.
A figure stood outside.
Tall.
Motionless.
I couldn't see the face.
Garrett reached for the metal bar attached beneath his bed.
The figure stepped inside.
I grabbed the nearest lamp.
Then the emergency lights switched on.
The room was empty.
The hallway beyond it was empty too.
I stepped forward.
Garrett stopped me.
“Don't.”
We listened.
Footsteps.
Coming from downstairs.
Then a crash.
We moved toward the staircase.
Halfway down, I saw something on the floor.
Gertrude's phone.
Its screen was cracked.
“Where is she?”
Garrett searched the room.
No one answered.
Then we heard a soft knock.
Three times.
From inside the wine cellar.
Garrett's face changed.
“That's not possible.”
“What?”
“The cellar locks automatically.”
We opened the door.
Gertrude was inside.
Her wrists were tied.
She looked terrified.
“Don't touch me!”
I ran toward her.
Garrett stopped me.
“Wait.”
He examined the floor.
A thin wire had been stretched across the entrance.
A trap.
I carefully stepped over it.
Gertrude was shaking.
“Who did this?”
She began crying.
“I don't know.”
“Where is Douglas?”
“I thought he was with you.”
Garrett stared at her.
“No.”
Her eyes lifted.
“Then who locked me in?”
We freed her.
She grabbed my arm.
“Rebecca, you have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because they know.”
“Know what?”
She looked at Garrett.
“That you're not paralyzed.”
The room went silent.
Garrett rolled toward her.
“Who knows?”
Gertrude's lips trembled.
“Everybody.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“That can't be true.”
She shook her head.
“Not everybody. The people who matter.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“The people who have been watching this house.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes.
“Why would they wait?”
“Because they need you alive.”
“For what?”
Gertrude hesitated.
“Your signature.”
Garrett's expression changed.
“What signature?”
“The merger.”
Garrett's company was weeks away from a massive merger with another corporation.
His shares controlled the vote.
If he remained incapacitated, Douglas could vote on his behalf.
But if Garrett recovered publicly, Douglas would lose control.
“So that's it,” I whispered.
Gertrude nodded.
“They need you disabled until the merger closes.”
“Then why try to kill him?”
“Because if he discovers the truth before then, everything collapses.”
A noise came from the hallway.
Gertrude froze.
“Someone is coming.”
We hid behind the cellar shelves.
The door opened.
Douglas stepped inside.
He wasn't alone.
Ethan Vale, the attorney.
And a third man.
I recognized him.
Christopher.
My ex-husband.
I covered my mouth.
Christopher looked exhausted.
Douglas spoke.
“Garrett will sign tomorrow.”
Christopher shook his head.
“He won't.”
Douglas looked at him.
“Then Rebecca will.”
My heart stopped.
Garrett's hand found mine in the darkness.
Douglas continued.
“The divorce left her financially vulnerable. Her husband abandoned her. She'll do anything for money.”
Christopher whispered:
“You don't know her.”
Douglas laughed.
“Apparently you didn't either.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“We need the original authorization documents.”
Christopher replied:
“I don't have them.”
“You said you did.”
“I lied.”
Douglas slapped him.
My entire body went cold.
Garrett leaned toward me.
“We have to get out.”
Christopher turned suddenly toward the shelves.
His eyes stopped.
He had seen us.
But instead of pointing, he looked directly at me.
Then he subtly touched his chest.
Three times.
Our old signal.
A signal Christopher and I had used during the early years of our marriage when one of us needed help.
I hadn't thought about it in years.
Christopher looked away.
Then he said loudly:
“She's not here.”
Douglas frowned.
“Search the cellar.”
Christopher blocked his path.
“I'm telling you she's not here.”
Douglas shoved him aside.
The search began.
Garrett whispered:
“When I say run, don't stop.”
The men moved closer.
Closer.
Then a glass bottle fell from a shelf.
Everyone looked.
Christopher pointed at the opposite door.
“She's there!”
The men rushed away.
Garrett shoved himself upright.
His legs shook.
But he stood.
For the first time in years.
He took one step.
Then another.
I stared at him.
He whispered:
“Run.”
We escaped through the old tunnel.
Behind us, Douglas shouted.
May you like
And as we disappeared into the dark, Garrett said something that made my blood freeze.
“Rebecca, your father didn't die naturally.”
