Chapter 9 - THE HIDDEN DOCUMENTS
The motorboat sliced through the dark, cold waters of the private lake, kicking up a white spray behind them.
Grace sat calmly on the molded plastic seat, her small hands resting neatly in her lap.
"Where is this lawyer?" Lara asked over the roar of the engine, keeping her eyes fixed on the distant shore.
"Downtown," Grace replied, shouting slightly to be heard. "Mr. Harrison's office."
"He was my grandfather's personal legal counsel before he... passed away."
Lara gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Before he passed away? Mr. Hollis senior died of natural causes, didn't he?"
Grace turned her head slowly, looking out across the dark water.
"That's what the death certificate says."
A chilling realization settled over Lara.
"Viviana?" Lara asked.
Grace didn't answer, which was answer enough.
They docked the boat near an old public pier hidden beneath a thick canopy of weeping willows.
Lara cut the engine, the sudden silence ringing loudly in their ears.
They scrambled ashore, their shoes sinking slightly into the muddy bank.
"We need a car," Lara said, pulling out her phone. "Can you log into your father's transportation account?"
Grace pulled a sleek, custom-built micro-tablet from her coat pocket.
Her fingers danced across the glass screen with astonishing speed.
"Done," Grace said a moment later. "A black sedan is waiting three blocks away under my father's corporate alias."
Lara stared at the child in awe. "You are incredible, Grace."
"I am prepared," Grace corrected simply. "Survival requires preparation in that house."
They hurried through the quiet suburban streets until they reached the sleek black sedan idling by the curb.
Lara slid into the driver's seat, while Grace climbed into the back.
The GPS was already pre-programmed with an address in the financial district.
Lara put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb.
As they merged onto the highway, Lara’s phone suddenly lit up with an incoming call.
The caller ID read: *Damian Hollis.*
Lara’s breath caught. She looked at the screen, hesitating.
"Answer it," Grace said from the back seat. "Put it on speaker."
Lara pressed the button and laid the phone on the center console.
"Lara," Damian’s voice came through the speaker, cold, strained, and laced with suppressed panic.
"Where are you?"
"Mr. Hollis," Lara said steadily. "You need to listen to me very carefully."
"Viviana is not who you think she is."
"She forged the financial records, she manipulated your security logs, and she had your father killed."
A heavy silence stretched across the phone line.
Then, Damian spoke, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Viviana showed me proof that you cleaned out the offshore accounts, Lara."
"She has a signed confession from your predecessor, Sarah."
Lara slammed her foot on the gas pedal. "Sarah is missing, Damian! Because Viviana silenced her!"
Before Damian could reply, a loud crash echoed through the phone speaker.
Glass shattering. Shouts of panic.
"Damian?" Lara yelled into the phone. "Damian, what’s happening?"
"Get out of the house!" a muffled voice screamed in the background—Viviana's voice, cold and venomous.
May you like
Then the phone line went completely dead.
A dial tone buzzed harshly against the empty car.
