Chapter 6 - The Midnight Shift
The guest house on the edge of the Hayes estate was warm, smelling of pine wood and fresh linen. Sarah sat on the edge of a massive, soft bed, watching Lily sleep peacefully under three thick wool blankets. For the first time in four days, her daughter’s face was completely calm, free of fear.
Sarah walked over to the small kitchen area, where a spread of hot soup, fresh bread, and fruit had been left for them. Beside the food lay a simple, handwritten note on plain paper:
You are completely safe here. Nobody knows where you are. Rest. Tomorrow, the truth comes out.
Sarah held the note against her chest, weeping softly. She didn't know who "Martha's chapel" belonged to, but she felt as if a guardian angel had plucked them out of the freezing dark just before they broke.
Meanwhile, three miles away at the Hayes Distribution Headquarters, the lights on the top floor burned brightly through the night.
Inside his office, Richard was working alongside Victoria Vance and a team of forensic accountants. On the glass tables lay hundreds of financial documents detailing Marcus Vance’s actions over the past five years.
“We found it, Richard,” Victoria said, tossing a thick folder onto his desk at two in the morning. “Marcus wasn't just planning a takeover. He’s been siphoning off funds from the community charity accounts to fund his private offshore holding company in the Caymans.”
Richard leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the ledger entries. “He was stealing from the children’s gift funds?”
“Yes,” Victoria confirmed grimly. “That’s why names were dropped from the Christmas registration list last weekend, including Lily Bennett’s. Marcus capped the donor budget by thirty percent and pocketed the difference to pay off his proxy voters. The administrative glitch wasn't an accident—it was theft.”
Richard slammed his fist onto the desk, rattling the glass coffee cups. “He robbed children to buy off board members, and then framed this poor mother when I started asking questions!”
“The board meeting is in six hours,” Victoria reminded him. “Marcus has twelve proxy votes lined up. If you don't present this evidence perfectly, he will push the vote through before the police can review the documents.”
“He won't get the chance,” Richard said, his voice dripping with venom. “Arthur, is everything prepared for the morning?”
“Yes, Mr. Hayes,” Arthur replied from the doorway. “The board members have all received emergency summonses. The federal financial crimes unit has been briefed. And Sarah Bennett will be brought to the headquarters at nine a.m. under protective escort.”
Richard looked at his watch. Five o'clock on Thursday morning. Twenty-four hours until Christmas Eve.
May you like
He walked over to his desk drawer and pulled out the small cream-colored box he had purchased two days ago. He ran his hand over the velvet ribbon, thinking about the little girl who had asked for nothing for herself, and the mother who had hidden her torn gloves to keep her dignity.
“Marcus thought money made him powerful,” Richard whispered to the empty room. “Tomorrow, I’m going to show him what real power looks like.”
