Chapter 4 - The Sound of Glass
"Open this door right now!" Marcus's voice was sharp, laced with sudden, venomous panic. He slammed his weight against the mahogany wood, but the brass deadbolt held firm.
Adeline stared at the laptop screen.
Downloading files... 89%... 94%...
"Miss Marsh, I know it's you!" Marcus yelled, his fists hammering furiously against the panel. "You are destroying your life over a cripple who doesn't even know how to save himself! Open the door or I swear to God I will have you arrested for industrial espionage by sunrise!"
99%... Download Complete.
Adeline ripped the cable free, shoved the laptop into her backpack, and spun around just as a heavy thud shook the door frame. Marcus was throwing his shoulder against the wood, trying to splinter the lock.
There was no time for the door.
Adeline rushed toward the massive floor-to-ceiling French windows overlooking the rear courtyard. She threw the latch, pushed the glass open, and stepped out onto the narrow stone balcony. The autumn wind hit her face like a physical slap, carrying the chill of the approaching storm.
Below her, three stories down, lay the concrete patio of the fountain garden.
Marcus managed to break the deadbolt. The office door crashed open with a splintering roar. Marcus burst into the room, panting, his eyes wild. He rushed toward the balcony just as Adeline swung her leg over the iron railing.
"Don't be insane!" Marcus shouted, lunging forward.
Adeline didn't hesitate. She grabbed the heavy ivy vines clinging to the stone facade of the mansion, wrapped her legs around the thickest stem, and slid down into the dark abyss.
The rough vines tore at her palms, burning through the fabric of her sleeves, but she kept her momentum, dropping the final ten feet straight onto the soft mulch of the garden flowerbeds.
She rolled, gasping for air, dirt and mulch filling her mouth.
Above her, Marcus leaned over the balcony railing, cursing into the empty night air. But he didn't follow. He knew as well as she did that the grounds were dark, and chasing a desperate nurse through the labyrinthine gardens at 3:30 AM was a fool's errand.
Adeline scrambled to her feet, clutching her backpack tightly to her chest, and sprinted toward the cover of the greenhouse.
Twenty minutes later, dripping with sweat, her hands bleeding and her scrubs torn, she slipped back into the medical annex through the ground-floor side window.
Nico was waiting by the entrance in his wheelchair. He took one look at her shredded sleeves and bleeding palms, and his face went entirely pale.
"Did you get it?" he asked, his voice strained.
Adeline dropped the laptop onto the medical tray and popped the USB drive out, holding it up like a trophy.
"Every file, every wire transfer, every offshore account," she panted, leaning against the wall for support. "Marcus, Camille, and the board. It’s all on here."
Nico stared at the small plastic drive. For a long moment, the formidable heir of the Alfieri empire looked remarkably fragile. Then, slowly, a fierce, vindictive smile spread across his face—the smile of a man who had finally found his weapon.
"Good," Nico whispered. "Because we’re going to need it sooner than you think."
He spun his wheelchair around toward the monitor console. A live security feed from the front gates flickered on the screen.
A sleek black sedan had just pulled up the long gravel drive, its headlights cutting through the fog. Four men in dark suits stepped out, led not by security guards, but by two senior board members holding heavy leather briefcases.
And stepping out from the passenger side, wrapped in a fur coat despite the hour, was Camille Ashcroft.
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"They didn't call the police," Adeline said, watching the monitor with a sinking feeling. "They called an emergency board intervention."
"An emergency buyout," Nico corrected, his eyes hardening into flint. "They're here to strip me of my voting shares, declare me medically incompetent, and institutionalize me before sunrise."
