Chapter 6 - The Visitor at Midnight
Julian descended the stairs with measured, lethal steps. In his right hand, concealed behind his leg, he held a sleek, black Kimber 9mm pistol he had pulled from the safe in his study.
He reached the grand foyer. The shards of broken Ming porcelain had been swept into a neat pile near the console table by Elena before she had gone upstairs to Noah. The smell of cold night air lingered near the front entrance.
Julian stepped up to the thick oak door, peering through the optical spyhole.
Standing under the warm portico light outside was not a team of hitmen or police officers.
It was a woman.
She wore a dark navy trench coat with the collar turned up against the light rain falling outside. Her dark hair was cut into a sharp, chin-length bob, dripping with raindrops. She stood perfectly still, her hands tucked deep into her coat pockets, looking directly at the spyhole as if she knew Julian was standing on the other side.
Julian unlocked the heavy deadbolt with a metallic click and pulled the door open three inches, keeping the safety off his pistol behind his leg.
"You have five seconds to state your business before I clear this porch," Julian said, his voice flat and deadly.
The woman did not flinch. She slowly lifted her right hand from her coat pocket, holding up a small, silver leather-bound notebook tied with a thick black ribbon.
"My name is Maya Lin," she said, her voice crisp, holding a slight international accent. "I was Eleanor’s private financial investigator before she was murdered in Aspen."
Julian’s grip on the pistol tightened. "Eleanor died in a car crash."
"Eleanor was forced off a cliff because she discovered that Victoria and Arthur Sterling were using your commercial developments to launder capital for an international syndicate," Maya replied without breaking eye contact. "The book in my hand contains the duplicate encryption keys Arthur just tried to steal from your server ten minutes ago."
Julian stared at her. The rain pattered softly against the stone steps behind her.
"Why are you here now?" Julian demanded.
"Because Victoria’s arrest was not supposed to happen tonight," Maya said, taking a small step closer to the door threshold. "Arthur was supposed to collect the data while you were distracted by Victoria’s trial six months from now. But your son... Noah... he broke the timeline by pointing out that ceiling camera."
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Maya looked past Julian’s shoulder toward the grand hallway inside.
"Your son didn't just save his nanny tonight, Mr. Vance," Maya whispered. "He interrupted a execution protocol that was set to detonate this house before sunrise."
