Chapter 4 - The Midnight Break-InBy 11:00 PM, the manor had cleared. Samuel Price had locked the study door, placed state evidence seals across the safe, and taken the primary documents for morning court registration.
I sat in the kitchen drinking warm tea, the cold ice pack resting against my split lip.
At 2:30 AM, the estate security system chimed softly on my tablet. High-definition infrared cameras around the back terrace showed two figures wearing dark jackets working a crowbar against the study’s French doors.
It was Julian and Uncle Raymond.
Julian believed that if he could destroy the encrypted flash drive and the paper ledgers before morning, the state wouldn't have enough direct physical evidence to sustain an indictment.
I picked up my phone and dialed the Hudson Valley precinct dispatcher directly. Dad had arranged an emergency priority response code three weeks prior.
“Officer,” I whispered, “they are breaking into the study right now.”
“Hold your position in the safe room, Ms. Sterling. Units are two minutes away.”
Through the security monitor, I watched Julian smash the pane of leaded glass, reach inside, unlock the latch, and stumble into the study. Uncle Raymond stood outside in the rain, looking around frantically like an anxious lookout.
Julian tore down Dad’s books, smashed open the antique desk drawers, and swung the crowbar against the evidence locker.
Suddenly, massive exterior floodlights illuminated the entire courtyard like daylight.
Sirens wailed as four patrol cars sped up the private driveway, tires spinning on wet gravel.
“Police! Drop your weapon and step out with your hands up!”
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Uncle Raymond immediately dropped to his knees in the mud with his hands on his head. Julian attempted to bolt through the terrace doors, but two officers tackled him directly onto the wet flagstones, pinning him down and clicking steel handcuffs behind his back.
I walked onto the second-floor balcony, looking down through the rain. Julian looked up, his face covered in mud, screaming curses into the cold night air as the red and blue flashing lights danced across the stone facade of the estate.
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