Chapter 4 - The House on Shoreline Drive
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour by the time our van rolled quietly past the security gate of Shoreline Drive, having spoofed the community’s automated license plate reader using a high-level military override code Maya had deployed en route.
The estate loomed ahead like a fortress of dark stone and towering glass windows, every light inside blazing with the obnoxious brightness of people who believed they were completely untouchable.
Maya and I stepped out of the van, pulling our black tactical rainhoods low over our faces. We moved with silent, synchronized precision across the manicured front lawn, bypassing the motion-sensor floodlights by utilizing dead zones in the perimeter camera sweep that Maya had mapped out ten minutes prior.
“Main smart-hub is wired into the garage utility room,” Maya whispered, pulling a compact data-splicing rig from her tactical backpack. “Give me three minutes to bypass the biometric lock and mirror their entire domestic server to our external drive.”
“Take two,” I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on the towering double oak doors of the grand foyer.
Through the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the ground-floor living room, I could see shadows moving. Voices carried faintly over the sound of the hammering rain.
Ryan was pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor, a glass of scotch in his hand, looking frantic. Seated on a velvet sofa near the marble fireplace were Tessa and Morgan. They weren't crying. They weren't mourning. They were laughing—a low, relaxed sound of two corporate predators celebrating a successful close on a hostile acquisition.
“I told you hiring those private contractors at the hospital was a stroke of genius,” Morgan was saying, her voice carrying clearly through the acoustic glass of the patio door. “Once the judge sees the medical reports we fabricated with Dr. Vance’s sign-off, Nia won’t just lose visitation—she’ll be facing federal child abandonment charges for being stationed overseas.”
“And the girl?” Ryan snapped, stopping his pacing to glare at his sisters. “She’s in the hospital in traction, Tessa! You went too far with the bar!”
Tessa rolled her eyes, taking a leisurely sip of her wine. “She had to learn, Ryan. Soft children make for messy custody battles. Once Nia comes back and tries to make a scene, we’ll call the county sheriff, claim she threatened us on private property, and have her locked up before she even reaches the ICU. It’s foolproof.”
Outside in the dark, standing knee-deep in the wet grass, I let out a slow, measured breath through my nose.
Foolproof.
Suddenly, Maya tapped my shoulder. “Server mirrored. I’ve got every fraudulent document, every offshore bribe transfer to Judge Harrison, and the unedited security footage from the nursery where they beat Elise.”
She held up a small, encrypted solid-state drive.
May you like
“Good,” I said, pulling the heavy brass ring of the patio door handle.
It wasn't locked. People who believe they own the world rarely bother to lock their doors against ghosts.
