Chapter 4 - Rain and Red Lights
The storm outside was apocalyptic by the time Vanessa forced Nora out through the side service exit into the circular driveway. The thunder rolled across the Greenwich hills like artillery fire, shaking the very foundations of Graystone Manor. Sheets of driving rain turned the gravel paths into rushing streams of muddy water, soaking through Nora’s uniform in seconds.
“Move!” Vanessa ordered, jabbing the crackling stun device toward Nora’s chest. The red targeting laser danced erratically across the wet fabric of Nora’s shirt.
Behind Nora sat a locked black town car—one of the estate’s secondary transport vehicles, left idling by the staff exit. To her left was a twelve-foot stone wall topped with wrought-iron spikes, completely impossible to scale in the mud and the dark.
Thirty yards away, through the tall arched windows of the grand ballroom, the faint sounds of music and laughter drifted out into the night. Nearly a hundred guests were inside, celebrating the engagement of Grant Holloway and the woman who was systematically destroying his life.
None of them could see the drama unfolding in the dark.
Nora raised both hands slowly, the rain slicking her hair across her face, blinding her partially, but her focus remained absolute.
“Please,” Nora said, her voice cutting through the roar of the wind. “My daughter is waiting for me.”
Vanessa stepped closer, her blue silk gown ruined by the mud and rain, her face twisted in an ugly grimace of rage. “Then you should have remembered her before you decided to destroy my life.”
The red light of the stun device hovered inches from Nora’s heart. The air smelled of ozone and damp earth. Nora braced herself for the searing jolt of electricity, knowing that if she went down here in the dark, Vanessa and Miles would ensure she never woke up.
A jagged flash of lightning turned the entire circular driveway blindingly white.
And in that split second of harsh illumination, the massive mahogany front doors of Graystone Manor flew open with a resounding crash against the stone pillars.
“Nora!”
The roar came from deep within the house, carrying a tone of absolute panic and fury that silenced even the thunder.
Grant Holloway came running out into the pouring rain.
He wore no coat. No umbrella. His expensive dress shoes slipped dangerously on the slick stone as he crossed the driveway, but he did not slow down. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead, and his expression was one Nora had never seen before—not the calm, calculating tech founder, but a man witnessing the destruction of his entire world.
Vanessa froze. Her head whipped around toward the sound of Grant’s voice.
May you like
The red light wavered, then clicked off as Vanessa desperately tried to conceal the stun device behind her wet silk skirt.
Everything Vanessa had spent eight months building began to collapse in slow motion.
