Chapter 1: The Door Opens
Chapter 1: The Door Opens
For nearly ten seconds, nobody moved.
The grinding of titanium against oak still echoed through the marble foyer as Sarah struggled to keep her balance. Sweat beaded across her forehead, but she refused to cry out.
Eleanor watched through the glass with a satisfied smile.
"Well?" she asked sweetly. "Has your pride finally become too expensive?"
Daniel stopped pushing against the door.
Instead, he looked calmly at Sarah.
"Can you unlock the suspension?"
Sarah immediately understood.
Without asking why, she reached beneath her gown and pressed a hidden emergency release inside the prosthetic socket.
Click.
The locking mechanism disengaged.
With one painful twist, her residual limb slipped free while the damaged prosthetic remained trapped inside the banquet door.
She collapsed into Daniel's arms.
Gasps swept through the crowd.
Many assumed the prosthetic itself had been her leg.
Several women covered their mouths in horror.
Eleanor frowned.
"I suppose that's one way to create a scene."
Daniel carefully helped Sarah onto a nearby marble bench before walking back toward the trapped prosthetic.
He stared at the titanium shaft.
Then at Eleanor.
"You've just destroyed evidence worth eighty million dollars."
The smile disappeared from Eleanor's face.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
The call was answered on the first ring.
"This is Daniel Carter."
"I need federal agents and county investigators at Oakwood Country Club."
"The evidence has just been located."
Silence.
Then Eleanor laughed.
"You've finally lost your mind."
But across the ballroom, one elderly man suddenly turned pale.
It was Richard Lawson.
My father's former chief financial officer.
He knew exactly what Daniel meant.
Because he had helped hide the truth years ago.
Without another word, Richard quietly slipped toward the side exit.
May you like
Daniel noticed immediately.
"So that's where the second witness was going."
