Chapter 5 – THE BROKEN LAMP IN THE LIVING ROOM

“Sophie, listen to me,” I said, gripping the steering wheel so hard my hands went numb. “Where are you right now?”

“I’m hiding in the laundry room,” she whispered, her voice muffled as if she had her hands over the receiver. “Under the big pile of towels.”

“Good girl,” I said, fighting to keep the absolute terror out of my voice. “Stay right there. Do not come out, no matter what you hear. Nana is almost there.”

“He broke the lamp, Nana,” Sophie sobbed quietly. “The big pretty one in the living room.”

The antique crystal lamp my mother had given me.

“I’ll be there in three minutes, baby. Stay hidden.”

I hung up, dialed 911, and threw my phone onto the passenger seat on speakerphone.

“911, what is your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.

“My name is Carol Whitmore. My son-in-law has broken into my home and is assaulting my daughter. My six-year-old granddaughter is hiding in the house. Send police immediately!” I shouted my address, ignoring the speed limit entirely as I careened into my neighborhood.

“Units are en route, ma’am. Are you currently inside the residence?”

“I’m pulling into the driveway right now,” I said.

I slammed the brakes, throwing the car into park before it had even fully stopped. Nathan’s silver pickup truck was parked aggressively across my lawn, tearing deep muddy trenches into the grass.

I didn’t wait for the police. I didn’t care about the risk.

I sprinted to the front door. It was locked.

I fumbled with my keys, my hands shaking violently. I finally slid the key into the deadbolt and shoved the heavy door open.

The house was eerily silent.

“Rebecca!” I screamed, stepping into the foyer.

I walked into the living room. It was a disaster. The antique crystal lamp was shattered across the hardwood floor. The coffee table was overturned. A vase of flowers I had set out yesterday was smashed against the wall, water and petals soaking into the rug.

But the room was empty.

“Mom!” a muffled, terrified cry came from upstairs.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the heavy iron fire poker from the hearth and bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I reached the landing. The door to the master bedroom was wide open.

I stepped into the doorway, raising the iron poker.

Nathan was standing near the foot of my bed. He had one hand wrapped tightly in Rebecca’s hair, forcing her to her knees. Her lip was bleeding heavily, a dark crimson stain against her pale skin.

Nathan was holding a thick, blue leather ledger in his free hand.

“Let her go!” I screamed, stepping into the room.

Nathan whipped his head toward me, his eyes wild and dangerous. He didn’t look scared of the fire poker. He looked furious.

“Carol,” Nathan snarled, yanking Rebecca’s hair to keep her down. “I warned you not to interfere. I told Doug to handle you.”

“Douglas is gone,” I said, pointing the sharp end of the iron poker at Nathan’s chest. “And the police are two minutes away. Let my daughter go, or I will put this iron straight through your jaw.”

Nathan scoffed, holding up the blue ledger. “You think the cops scare me? If they walk in here, I hand them this book. It proves Doug embezzled three million dollars and used it to bribe me. You lose everything, Carol. The house, the pension, everything.”

“I don’t care about the money,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I only care about her.”

Rebecca looked up at me, tears streaming down her bruised face. “Mom, he’s going to take Sophie. Don’t let him.”

“Where is the kid, Carol?” Nathan demanded, stepping toward me, dragging Rebecca with him. “She wasn’t in her room.”

“She’s safe from you,” I said.

Nathan let go of Rebecca’s hair and shoved her hard into the bedside table. She crumpled to the floor, gasping for air.

He lunged at me.

I swung the heavy iron poker as hard as I could.

Nathan ducked, the heavy iron whistling over his head, and tackled me around the waist.

We crashed onto the hardwood floor. The poker clattered out of my grip, sliding under the bed.

Nathan pinned my arms down, his knee digging painfully into my ribs. He was thirty-five, strong, and fueled by rage. I was fifty-seven. I couldn’t overpower him.

“You stupid old woman,” Nathan hissed, his face inches from mine. “I own this family. I own Doug. I own Rebecca. And I am taking my daughter.”

He raised his fist, preparing to strike my face.

I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

But the blow never came.

Instead, a deafening CRACK echoed through the bedroom.

Nathan groaned loudly, his weight suddenly collapsing off me. He slumped to the side, clutching the back of his head.

I scrambled backward, gasping for breath, and looked up.

Standing over Nathan, holding the heavy wooden base of my bedside lamp in both hands, was Rebecca.

She was shaking violently, blood dripping from her split lip, but her eyes were filled with a fierce, unbreakable fire.

“You don’t own me,” Rebecca whispered.

Nathan groaned on the floor, trying to push himself up.

Before he could, the heavy tread of combat boots echoed on the stairs.

Two police officers burst into the bedroom, their weapons drawn.

“Stay on the ground! Hands behind your back!” the taller officer shouted at Nathan.

Nathan blinked, dazed from the blow to the head, and slowly raised his hands. “Officers, my wife attacked me! I came to get my child, and these women attacked me!”

The second officer forcefully cuffed Nathan, ignoring his protests.

The first officer turned to Rebecca and me. “Are you two alright?”

I nodded, pulling myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. “My granddaughter is hiding in the downstairs laundry room. Please, get her.”

The officer nodded and radioed down to his partner.

Nathan struggled against his cuffs as they hauled him to his feet. “You’re making a mistake!” he yelled at the cops. “Look at the blue book on the floor! That’s evidence of federal fraud!”

The taller officer looked down at the blue leather ledger lying near the nightstand. He picked it up.

“This?” the officer asked.

“Yes!” Nathan grinned viciously, blood trailing down his neck. “Read it! It proves her husband is a criminal!”

The officer opened the ledger. He flipped through the first few pages. Then he flipped through the middle.

He looked at Nathan, confused.

“Sir, there’s nothing in here,” the officer said.

Nathan froze. “What?”

The officer held the book open toward us.

The pages were entirely blank. Every single one of them.

“That’s impossible,” Nathan whispered, the color draining from his face. “I took that from the vault myself! It has the offshore accounts!”

I stared at the blank blue ledger, utterly bewildered.

If Nathan had a fake ledger… where was the real one?

My phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket.

It was a text from Arthur Vance.

Carol. I broke into Nathan’s office safe. The real ledger isn’t here. But I found something worse. Get Rebecca out of the house. Now.

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