PART 3: The Confrontation at the Door
The cold silence in the hallway was thick enough to choke on.
Every muscle in my body screamed at me to turn around, run up the stairs, and lock myself in with my children.
But I knew that running would only confirm what Nick already suspected.
If he realized I had seen the photograph on that hidden phone, he would have nothing left to lose.
I took a deep, steadying breath, forced my trembling hands to stop shaking, and rested my palm on the brass doorknob.
I pulled the door open just a few inches, keeping the heavy brass security chain firmly locked in its slide.
“Nick,” I said, forcing my voice to sound tired and completely unsuspicious.
“It’s late. You didn’t have to drive all the way back over here just for a lunchbox.”
Nick’s smile didn’t reach his dark, shadowed eyes as he held up the red plastic container.
“Oh, you know how Maya gets if she doesn’t have her favorite box for school in the morning,” he said smoothly.
His eyes scanned my face with a sharp, calculating intensity that made my stomach turn into a solid knot of ice.
“Can you unhook the chain, Sarah? It’s freezing out here, and I’d like to step inside for a quick minute.”
“The girls are already asleep, Nick,” I replied quickly, keeping my body blocking the narrow opening of the door.
“I was just about to turn off the lights and head to bed myself. I’ve had a really long headache all afternoon.”
Nick took a slow step forward, bringing his face closer to the narrow crack between the door and the frame.
“That’s funny,” Nick whispered, his smooth, friendly tone dropping into a cold, flat monotone.
“Because when I went up to the attic to grab a blanket ten minutes ago, I noticed something interesting.”
My heart stopped beating entirely.
“What did you notice, Nick?” I asked, keeping my voice as flat and emotionless as his.
“The old blue storage bin was wide open,” Nick said, his eyes narrowing into two sharp, dangerous slits.
“And Gabriel’s old hunting jacket was gone.”
“Olivia’s school backpack was sitting right next to that bin when she was playing up there earlier.”
He slowly pulled his right hand out of his heavy black coat pocket.
He was holding a heavy, dark iron crowbar, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the textured metal handle.
“You shouldn’t have let her go up into the attic, Sarah,” Nick said softly, taking a step back to gain leverage.
“Gabriel was always too curious for his own good, and it looks like his daughter inherited the exact same flaw.”
Before I could scream or react, Nick slammed his heavy boot directly against the center of the wooden door.
The mounting screws of the brass security chain ripped violently out of the doorframe with a deafening splintering crack.
The heavy oak door swung inward, striking my shoulder and sending me crashing hard onto the hardwood floor of the foyer.
Nick stepped across the threshold, slamming the door shut behind him and turning the deadbolt with a sharp click.
He stood over me, his tall frame blocking the hallway light, the iron crowbar hanging heavily at his side.
“Where is the phone, Sarah?” Nick demanded, his breath coming in short, furious gasps.
“Where is the phone that was in the pocket?!”
I scrambled backward on my hands and knees, my back slamming against the base of the staircase railing.
“You killed him!” I screamed, tears of absolute rage and sorrow bursting from my eyes.
“He was your brother! He loved you! He trusted you!”
“He was going to ruin everything!” Nick shouted, his face twisting into a hideous mask of uncontrollable fury.
“He was going to audit the company accounts! He was going to put me in prison for taking what was rightfully mine!”
“I spent five years building that business while he sat at home playing happy family with you!”
“I took the chance when he stood near the edge of that cliff, and I shoved him off before he could destroy my life!”
“I kept the jacket because I needed his keys… and I lost that damn phone in the pocket that morning!”
“I looked everywhere for that phone in the rain, but I couldn’t find it before the police arrived!”
He raised the iron crowbar above his head, stepping toward me with wild, unhinged eyes.
“Give me the phone, Sarah… or I swear to God, I will go up those stairs and find it myself!”
A voice suddenly called out from the top of the dark staircase above us.
“DROP IT, NICK!”
Will Nick turn his rage toward the top of the stairs, or is someone else waiting in the shadows? Go to the next page for the thrilling final showdown!
