“We must act before they do,” Okonnell said. “Yes, they have the resources.
We must preempt them. I suggest arranging a meeting between Chloe and Garrett’s people under our control. We record the attempt at coercion and intimidation.
That will be the basis for another criminal case—coercion to execute a transaction, threats. We use his greed as a trap.”
Okonnell thought about it. “Risky, but a viable option.
I’ll talk to Chloe. She must understand the risk.”
He contacted Chloe Jefferson and explained the plan. The girl did not agree immediately.
She was afraid. She trembled on the phone. “I can’t do this, Mr.
Okonnell. He’s a killer. He wants to kill me.”
“But Chloe,” Okonnell said quietly, “they will find you anyway.
It is better that it happens on our terms, and he will be convinced that you agree to hand over the estate to him. We will be nearby. The police will be nearby.
Nothing will happen to you. And Garrett will be driven even further into a corner. Think of Miss Vance’s wish.”
“Fine,” she said quietly.
“I’ll do it for Evelyn.”
Singleton arranged an information leak. Through an acquaintance at the security company, he passed on a hint to Garrett’s men that Chloe was working in a small private lab in the neighboring city of Charlotte. The information reached Paul 2 days later.
He was overjoyed to finally have a clear lead. He immediately drove there with Victoria Shaw and two bodyguards. The plan was simple: find the girl, intimidate her, force her to sign the renunciation of inheritance.
If she refused, exert stronger pressure. Paul was determined to force his financial rebirth, even if it meant Chloe’s death. They tracked Chloe in the evening as she left the lab and surrounded her on an empty street.
The air was cold and damp. It got dark early. Paul stepped forward and smiled, but it was a smile like a blade.
“Chloe Jefferson. Finally. We need to talk.”
“Listen carefully,” he continued.
“You got something that rightfully belongs to me. Evelyn was my wife. I took care of her for 3 years, and you are just a random girl who was in the right place at the right time.
Do you think that’s fair?”
Chloe remained silent. She held Evelyn’s wish firmly in her heart. Paul pulled papers from his pocket.
“Here is the renunciation of inheritance. You sign, and I will give you $300,000. That’s enough to pay off your debts and start a new life.
You refuse…” He nodded to the bodyguards. “You will regret it immediately.”
“I won’t sign,” Chloe gasped. Her knees were shaking, but her voice was clear.
Paul frowned. Victoria stepped closer and spoke sweetly, but with a cold look. “Sweetie, you don’t understand who you’re messing with.
Paul is not one to give up. If you don’t sign voluntarily, he will force you painfully. Think of yourself, your health.
The money is not worth it.”
“I said no. I made a promise to the dead, and I’m keeping it.”
One of the bodyguards moved forward, but at that moment Singleton came around the corner. Behind him were two uniformed police officers.
“Halt! Police! Stay where you are!”
Paul froze.
Victoria went pale. The bodyguards looked around confusedly. Singleton went to Chloe.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She was shaking but held herself upright. “They threatened me. They wanted me to sign the renunciation of inheritance.”
The police officer noted the statement.
Paul tried to justify himself. “We were just talking. There were no threats.
This is a misunderstanding.”
“We recorded everything,” Singleton said, pulling a small recorder from Chloe’s pocket. “Every word, including the sentence that she will regret it if she refuses. Your attempt at coercion is hereby documented.”
Paul realized he was trapped.
The police officers drew up a report and arrested him and Victoria for questioning. The bodyguards were released with an order to appear. At the police station, Paul was detained until the morning and then released on bail, but the case was opened.
Chen received the documents and initiated proceedings for coercion to execute a transaction and threat of violence. Now two cases were running against Garrett: the murder of Evelyn Vance and the threats against Chloe. The situation became critical.
Paul’s desperate greed had betrayed him. He returned to the house that no longer belonged to him. Victoria sat on the sofa holding her head and wailing.
“Everything is falling apart. Paul, they are closing in on us. That was a trap and we walked right into it.”
“Shut up,” he snarled.
“I’m thinking. There must be a way.”
“What is there to think about? We have to flee while we still can.”
“Flee where?
I have no money. Evelyn left everything to that damn girl. All I have left is my meager salary from 3 years, which is long spent.
Without money, I am nobody.”
“Then what should we do?”
Paul was silent. He knew time was running out. The district attorney was digging.
The detective was gathering evidence. Witnesses were testifying. Soon he would be arrested, and then it would be all over.
He needed a plan. Desperate, risky, but a plan. He had to force Chloe Jefferson to renounce the inheritance.
He grabbed the phone and dialed the number of one of his bodyguards. “Listen closely. I need all the information about Chloe Jefferson.
Everything you find—where she lives, where she works, who is guarding her. I’ll pay double. We’re doing this personally now.”
The bodyguard agreed.
Paul hung up. The adrenaline surged. He knew it was madness.
The district attorney was already on his heels. Tomorrow, the interrogation. He could be arrested.
But if he did nothing, he would lose definitively. And if Chloe Jefferson renounced the inheritance, the case would collapse. No inheritance, no motive.
Without a motive, the charge was weaker. He had to force her to break her will. He packed his things—money, documents, a backup phone.
He left a note for the housekeeper saying he had gone to a friend’s house for a few days. His nerves couldn’t take it. He got into the car and drove to meet the bodyguard.
Meanwhile, in Charlotte, Chloe Jefferson finished her workday. The lab closed at 6:00 in the evening. She changed clothes and went out onto the street.
November had arrived—cold wind, dampness. It got dark early. Chloe walked down the deserted street toward the bus stop.
She felt a growing fear within her, a premonition of evil. Her phone vibrated. Tiffany Marorrow.
“Chloe, where are you?”
“On my way home. Work is over.”
“Singleton couldn’t pick you up today. He has another case.
Be careful. Call immediately if anything happens. Don’t stand around in the dark.”
“All right.”
Chloe put the phone away.
She looked around. The street was empty. The lanterns burned dimly.
She felt uneasy. She quickened her steps. Behind her, she heard the sound of an engine.
A car. Chloe turned around. A black SUV was driving slowly, almost level with her.
The window lowered. An unknown man was at the wheel. In the back seat—Paul Garrett.
His face was a cold mask of rage and desperation. “Chloe Jefferson, get in. We need to talk.
This time, there are no lawyers.”
“No.”
She backed away. The SUV stopped. The doors flew open.
Two powerful men in dark clothes jumped out. One grabbed Chloe by the arm. The other covered her mouth.
She tried to break free, but her strength was insufficient. She was shoved into the car and squeezed between the bodyguards. The SUV drove off.
Paul turned to her. “Too bad you’re so uncooperative, Chloe. We could have agreed peacefully, but now it has to be different.
This is your last mistake.”
She remained silent, almost suffocating with fear. The scent of Paul Garrett’s expensive cologne was now mixed with the stench of terror. The car drove out of the city, turned onto a dirt road, and stopped at an abandoned hangar.
The place was the definition of desolation. Paul got out and nodded to the bodyguards. “Get her out.
Quick and quiet.”
Chloe was dragged out of the car and brought into the hangar. Inside, it was cold and dark. It smelled of dampness and rust.
The silence of the night was broken only by the wind whistling through the broken window panes. Paul turned on his phone’s flashlight and illuminated her face. “Listen carefully.
You have two options. The first: you sign the renunciation of inheritance right here, right now. I’ll take you back, give you $300,000, and we part as friends.
The second option…” He paused dramatically. “You will never be found.”
Chloe trembled. She tried to control her panic.
“I am being looked for. If I disappear, you will be immediately suspected. Mr.
Okonnell knows.”
“Let them suspect. Where there
