Chapter 78 - The Safety Deposit of St. Jude
The revelation hung in the freezing air of the corridor like a suspended execution. My late husband Donald had built an empire on bloodline legitimacy, demanding loyalty from every tenant, politician, and judge in the valley under the sacred mantle of the Mercer family legacy. And yet, the very son he had raised to inherit it was a phantom, an orphan purchased to maintain the appearance of unbroken lineage.
"Richard doesn't know," I said, piecing together decades of hidden glances, sudden rages, and frantic financial maneuvers. "He spends his life trying to prove he is Donald Mercer’s equal, and he doesn't even know he carries none of Donald’s blood."
"He suspects," Tyler said bitterly, checking the corridor behind us. "That’s why he was so desperate to sign the estate over to Vance. Richard wanted to cash out before anyone looked too closely at the foundational deeds. If the receivership goes through, the federal courts seal the records forever under the bankruptcy code, and Richard walks away with a clean slate."
A sudden sound shattered our conversation: the heavy crunch of gravel outside the barracks, followed by the sweep of high-beam headlights reflecting through the frosted windows of the front office.
Julian shoved Tyler back toward the shadow of the cellblock wall, drawing his weapon. "They tracked the utility truck. Vance’s perimeter patrol figured out where the missing vehicle went."
"There’s an egress chute behind the boiler room," Tyler said urgently, grabbing my arm. "It drops directly into the reservoir spillway. In this storm, the water is fifty feet below the bypass pipe, but the service catwalk is intact."
"Evelyn cannot climb an industrial catwalk in this weather," Julian said sharply, eyes fixed on the entrance doors where shadows were already moving against the frosted glass.
May you like
"She won't have to," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the car keys to the county patrol cruiser parked outside the guard office. I had taken them from the duty desk on our way into the building. "Tyler, Julian, move to the boiler room. We aren't running down a mountain catwalk. We are taking Vance’s own vehicle, and we are going directly to St. Jude’s."
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