Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE MANSION WENT DARK|
The drive back to New York felt endless.
Gabriel sat beside me in the rear seat of an unmarked police vehicle.
Detective Brooks coordinated with officers over the radio.
Every few minutes, someone reported a new detail.
The mansion's external security cameras had gone offline.
The front gate wasn't responding.
And two members of the household staff had stopped answering their phones.
Gabriel gripped his phone.
"Anthony should be there."
Detective Brooks nodded.
"We're trying to reach him."
Gabriel dialed again.
No answer.
He called Daniel.
Nothing.
Then he called Vincent's room.
The phone rang until it disconnected.
I could see the fear building behind his controlled expression.
"Gabriel," I said softly.
He turned.
"They've already been through enough."
"I know."
"My brother just came home."
His voice broke.
"And Dad finally looked happy."
I rested a hand on his arm.
"We're going to do everything we can."
He nodded.
But he didn't look convinced.
Twenty minutes later, we approached the Romano estate.
Police vehicles were positioned along the road.
The mansion stood beyond the gates, completely dark.
Every window was black.
The garden lights were off.
Even the fountain had stopped running.
It looked like an abandoned castle.
Detective Brooks stepped out.
She instructed Gabriel and me to remain near the command vehicle.
Gabriel immediately protested.
"My family is inside."
"And officers are going to help them."
"I'm not standing here while Richard threatens my father."
Detective Brooks looked directly at him.
"If you rush inside, you may make the situation worse."
Gabriel clenched his jaw.
Then nodded.
I stood beside him, staring toward the dark windows.
My mind kept returning to Vincent's room.
The little brass bell.
The family photographs.
The chair beside the fireplace where he liked to sit.
I imagined him frightened.
Unable to move quickly.
Unable to explain what was happening.
And something inside me ached.
A few minutes later, Detective Brooks received a call.
Her expression changed.
She approached Gabriel.
"We have contact."
"With whom?"
"Richard."
Gabriel straightened.
"What does he want?"
"To speak with you."
The detective placed the call on speaker.
Richard Holloway's voice emerged.
Smooth.
Confident.
Almost amused.
"Gabriel, my boy."
Gabriel's face hardened.
"Where are my father and brother?"
"Somewhere comfortable."
"Let me speak to them."
"Always so impatient."
Gabriel's voice dropped.
"Richard."
A pause.
Then Richard sighed.
"Your father is upstairs."
"And Daniel?"
"With him."
"Are they hurt?"
"Not yet."
I felt my stomach tighten.
Detective Brooks motioned for Gabriel to remain calm.
Richard continued.
"I only want what was promised to me."
Gabriel stared toward the mansion.
"You stole from my mother."
"Your mother misunderstood business."
"You destroyed my family."
Richard laughed.
"Your family destroyed itself."
Gabriel's expression turned cold.
"You lied to my father."
"Vincent was easy to manipulate."
"You stole eighteen years of my brother's life."
Richard's voice sharpened.
"Daniel should have stayed out of my affairs."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
For a moment, I feared he would lose control.
But then he took a breath.
"What do you want?"
"Come inside."
"No."
Richard laughed.
"Afraid?"
"Not of you."
Gabriel looked at Detective Brooks.
"But I'm not giving you another victim."
Richard went silent.
Then he said, "Bring the trust documents."
"What for?"
"Transfer authority to me."
Gabriel shook his head.
"Those assets don't belong to you."
"They should."
"No."
Richard's voice hardened.
"You always were your mother's son."
Gabriel stared toward the house.
"That's the first truthful thing you've said tonight."
The call ended.
Detective Brooks immediately gave instructions to her team.
I watched officers move into position.
Gabriel stood motionless.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
It was from Daniel.
"CLAIRE, HELP."
My blood turned cold.
I showed Detective Brooks.
She looked at the screen.
"Respond carefully."
I typed.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
A minute passed.
Then another message appeared.
"LIBRARY."
I stared toward the mansion.
The library was on the ground floor.
It had two doors.
One opened into the main hallway.
The other led toward the garden terrace.
I looked at Detective Brooks.
"There's a second entrance."
She immediately turned.
"Show me."
I explained the layout.
Then Daniel sent another message.
"DAD CAN'T WALK."
My heart pounded.
A third message appeared.
"RICHARD LOCKED THE DOOR."
Detective Brooks spoke rapidly into her radio.
Officers began moving toward the rear garden.
Gabriel looked at me.
"How does Daniel have your number?"
"I gave it to him at the hospital."
He closed his eyes.
"Thank God."
I typed another message.
"ARE YOU BOTH SAFE?"
Daniel replied.
"FOR NOW."
Then another.
"DAD IS SCARED."
My eyes filled.
I remembered Vincent trying to reach his water glass at dinner.
The soup spilling across his jacket.
His whispered thank-you.
And I realized how far we'd come since that moment.
Vincent had spoken up.
He'd trusted me.
He'd fought to bring his son home.
And now someone was trying to silence him again.
I typed carefully.
"TELL HIM CLAIRE IS HERE."
A long minute passed.
Then Daniel replied.
"HE SMILED."
I began crying.
Gabriel looked at the message.
His eyes filled too.
Detective Brooks received confirmation that officers had reached the garden terrace.
Then something unexpected happened.
Every light inside the mansion suddenly came on.
The windows blazed.
The front door opened.
Richard Holloway stepped onto the porch.
He wore a dark overcoat.
His silver hair was perfectly combed.
And he carried a folder beneath one arm.
"Gabriel!" he shouted.
Officers raised their weapons.
Richard stopped at the top of the steps.
"I'm unarmed!"
Detective Brooks instructed him to show his hands.
He did.
Then he smiled.
"Your father wants to see you."
Gabriel took one step forward.
Detective Brooks stopped him.
Richard laughed.
"Always hiding behind someone else."
Gabriel remained silent.
The detective called for Richard to move away from the entrance.
Instead, he opened the folder.
He held up a document.
"Vincent signed it!"
Gabriel stared.
"What?"
Richard smiled.
"The assets are mine."
I looked at the paper.
Even from a distance, something seemed wrong.
The signature was large.
Dark.
Smooth.
Vincent's genuine handwriting had become shaky after his stroke.
I leaned toward Gabriel.
"That's not his signature."
He nodded.
"I know."
Richard continued shouting.
"Your father agreed!"
Gabriel looked toward Detective Brooks.
"He's lying."
The detective raised her radio.
"Mr. Holloway, put down the document."
Richard's expression changed.
He looked toward the driveway.
Police vehicles surrounded the gates.
He finally seemed to understand that he couldn't escape.
Then a sound came from inside.
A loud crash.
Richard turned.
For a moment, everyone froze.
Suddenly, Daniel appeared behind the front door.
He had one arm wrapped around Vincent.
The elderly man was leaning heavily against him.
"Dad!" Gabriel shouted.
Daniel looked toward the driveway.
"Gabe!"
Richard spun around.
"Get back inside!"
Daniel didn't move.
He pulled Vincent toward the porch.
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Let them go!"
Richard reached toward his coat.
Officers shouted commands.
Everything happened at once.
Daniel pushed Vincent behind a stone column.
Richard stumbled backward.
A sharp sound rang out.
I screamed.
Then I saw Gabriel running toward the steps.
Richard fell to his knees.
An officer had tackled him before he could pull anything from his coat.
The object clattered across the stone.
It was a handgun.
Officers restrained Richard and secured the weapon.
Detective Brooks shouted for medical assistance.
I ran toward Vincent.
He was sitting against the column, breathing heavily.
Daniel knelt beside him.
"He's okay," Daniel whispered.
"He's okay."
Gabriel reached them.
He dropped to his knees.
"Dad?"
Vincent looked at him.
His trembling hand rose.
Gabriel took it.
Then Vincent reached for Daniel.
His younger son moved closer.
The three men embraced on the stone porch.
And I stood beside them, crying so hard I could barely see.
Behind us, officers escorted Richard down the steps.
He was shouting about money.
About betrayal.
About everything he believed the Romano family owed him.
But nobody was listening anymore.
Gabriel looked up.
His voice was firm.
"Detective."
She turned.
"Make sure every piece of evidence reaches the prosecutor."
She nodded.
"We will."
Richard laughed bitterly.
"You think this is over?"
Gabriel rose slowly.
He looked at the man who had called himself his uncle.
The man who had attended his mother's funeral.
The man who had kept his brother hidden.
Then Gabriel answered.
"For my family, it's finally beginning."
Richard was escorted away.
And for the first time in eighteen years, the Romano mansion belonged to the people who had spent so long grieving inside it.
But as we helped Vincent toward the waiting ambulance, he caught my wrist.
His eyes were filled with tears.
"Claire."
"I'm here."
He looked toward the dark entrance.
Then whispered two words.
"Dining room."
I frowned.
"What about the dining room?"
Vincent squeezed my hand.
"Tomorrow."
I smiled through my tears.
"Tomorrow, Mr. Vincent?"
May you like
He nodded.
"All together."
