Downstairs in the dark guest house near the estate gates, Emily sat wrapped in a damp wool blanket, shivering from the cold rain.
Emily: Why didn't he believe me? Why couldn't he just look into my eyes?
The small door of the guest house creaked open, and Mark, the estate's head security officer, stepped inside holding a flash drive.
Mark: Miss Emily... you need to see this right now.
Emily: Mark? What are you doing here? If my father sees you talking to me, he will fire you!
Mark: Your father doesn't know I am here. But I couldn't let you leave the property without showing you the server logs.
Emily: The server logs from the main mansion?
Mark: The IP address that executed the wire transfer wasn't from your laptop, Miss Emily.
Emily sat up straight, the blanket slipping off her shoulders as her breath caught in her throat.
Emily: What?! Where did the transfer come from?!
Mark: It originated from a private tablet connected to Victoria's bedroom Wi-Fi network at three in the morning last Tuesday.
Emily: Three in the morning... I was asleep in my room!
Mark: I know. And I have the indoor motion camera footage showing Victoria walking into your room ten minutes before the transfer went through.
Emily: She stole my personal security fob from my desk!
Mark: Exactly. She used your fob to bypass the bank's two-factor authentication.
Tears of relief spilled down Emily's cheeks as she grabbed Mark's arm.
Emily: Mark, please... will you testify in front of my father? Will you show him this drive?
Mark: I already tried to show him this afternoon, Miss Emily. Victoria intercepted me at the security gate and threatened to frame my brother for theft if I spoke up.
Emily: She threatened your family too?
Mark: She is dangerous. She has been systematically cutting off everyone who truly cares about your father.
Emily: Where is my grandmother? Is she still in the main house?
Mark: I saw Mrs. Eleanor walk up to the second-floor library twenty minutes ago, but she hasn't come back down.
Emily: Victoria is upstairs with my father right now!
Mark: We need to get into the study before Victoria forces your father to sign the deed transfer papers.
Emily: Give me that flash drive, Mark. It's time to end this lie once and for all.
Emily threw off her blanket and stood up, her jaw set in determination as she stepped out into the pouring rain toward the main mansion.