THE SILENT HEIR
Chapter 1: The Interrogation
Rain lashed against the windows of the Sterling estate.
Inside, the air was thick. Stagnant.
Elena sat on the velvet sofa, her hands trembling over her swollen belly. Seven months. Seven months of carrying a secret that was now a death warrant.
Across from her, Martha Sterling leaned in. Her face was a mask of cold porcelain.
"Where is it, Elena?"
Martha’s voice was a razor. Low. Lethal.
Elena looked away. The heavy drapes felt like they were closing in.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena whispered.
Julian, her husband, stood like a sentinel to Martha's right. He didn't look like the man she married. He looked like a debt collector.
"Don't lie to my mother," Julian snapped.
He stepped forward, the floorboards groaning under his polished Oxfords.
"We know you took the ledger. We know you know about the offshore accounts."
Elena looked up. "That money is blood money, Julian. You killed those people."
A heavy silence filled the room. Then, movement.
Fast. Blinding.
