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 is no body, there is no crime. And the body?” Paul grinned.
“The nearby swampland is deep. Even a tank would sink there. No witness, no problems.”
She was silent.
Paul pulled the papers from his pocket. “Here is the renunciation. Will you sign?”
Paul nodded to one of the bodyguards.
He hit Chloe hard in the face. She fell down, hitting her knee on the concrete floor. Paul crouched beside her.
His eyes were cold and empty. “Do you think I’m joking? I killed Evelyn slowly, methodically.
I mixed poison into her tea for 3 months. I watched her waste away, and I didn’t care. Do you think I will treat you differently?”
Chloe lifted her head and looked him in the eyes.
Blood ran from her split lip. But at that moment, fear gave way to anger and a clear sense of obligation to Evelyn. “You are a murderer, and they will put you in prison.
Sooner or later, Evelyn made sure of that.”
Paul stood up and kicked her hard in the stomach. She doubled over in pain. He crouched down again.
“I ask you one last time. Will you sign?”
She was silent. Paul straightened up and nodded to the bodyguards.
“Get the car ready. We’ll take her to the swamp. We’ll take care of it there.
It’s her own fault.”
At that moment, sirens blared outside—loud, piercing. They broke the silence of the hangar. Paul froze.
The bodyguards rushed to the door, but police officers with drawn weapons were already storming into the hangar. “Stop! Police!
Hands up!”
Paul tried to flee but was immediately overpowered and handcuffed. The bodyguards were also arrested. Singleton came in next, went to Chloe, and helped her stand up.
His face was concerned. “Are you okay? Are you alive?”
“Yes,” she croaked.
The pain was real, but the relief was overwhelming. “Well done. Hold on.
An ambulance is on the way. You made him reveal himself.”
Paul was led out of the hangar and put into the police car. He looked at Chloe with pure hatred.
She stood there, leaning on Singleton, and for the first time in a long time, she felt that everything would be all right. Justice had finally found its way. Singleton explained to her later in the hospital, after the doctors had tended to her wounds.
“We were monitoring Garrett’s phone. When he left the city, we knew he was planning something. We contacted the local police and coordinated the measures.
We got there in time.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said, holding an ice pack to her split lip. “If you hadn’t been there…”
“Don’t think about it. The most important thing is that you are alive.
And Garrett is going behind bars for a long time now. Attempted murder, kidnapping, threats—plus the main case, the murder of Ms. Vance.
He faces 20 years.”
Chloe nodded. The pain gradually subsided. She closed her eyes and remembered Evelyn Vance’s face.
The promise she had made her. She had kept it. The next day, District Attorney Chen questioned Paul Garrett.
He sat in the detention cell, unshaven, with an extinguished look. He no longer looked like the charming young man of the past, but like a broken, greedy fool. “Paul Garrett, you are charged with the premeditated murder of your wife, Evelyn Vance, by systematic poisoning, as well as the kidnapping and attempted murder of Chloe Jefferson.
Do you admit your guilt?”
Paul stared sullenly at the table. “We have the expert report confirming the poisoning. We have witnesses who saw you buy the medication at the pharmacy without a prescription.
We have surveillance footage from the hospital showing you bringing your wife tea in a thermos, after which she worsened. We have a recording of your conversation with Miss Jefferson in which you state directly, ‘I killed Evelyn slowly, methodically. I mixed poison into her tea for 3 months.’ Do you want me to play the recording?”
Chen turned on the voice recorder. Paul’s voice sounded clear, arrogant, and triumphant—although the words now betrayed him. “I killed Evelyn slowly, methodically.
I mixed poison into her tea for 3 months. I watched her waste away, and I didn’t care.”
Chen turned off the recording. “That is your voice.
Paul Garrett, you have convicted yourself. We also have the statement from Miss Jefferson, whom you kidnapped, beat, and threatened with death if she did not renounce the inheritance. Injuries were found on her body.
Your bodyguards have already testified and confirmed that they acted on your command. Paul Garrett, you have maneuvered yourself into a corner. The only thing that can help you is a full confession.”
Paul lifted his head.
“I want a lawyer.”
“You’re right. The interrogation is concluded.”
Chen left the cell and called Okonnell. “Mr.
Okonnell, Garrett has been arrested. The court ordered pre-trial detention. Flight is ruled out, as is pressure on witnesses.
We can proceed to the next step.”
“Excellent,” Okonnell replied. “I am preparing the documents for the civil case. Garrett continues to contest the will, but his position is even weaker now.
The court will see a man charged with the murder of his wife trying to obtain her property. That looks cynical.”
“Agreed. What are his chances of winning the civil case?”
“Zero.
The will is flawlessly drawn up. Medical report on legal capacity. Video recording.
Statements of the notary. Everything is there. The court will clearly dismiss his claim.
Evelyn’s revenge is legally airtight.”
“Then only the criminal case remains,” Chen said. “I will continue the evidence gathering. I will soon submit the case to the court for indictment.”
“Keep me informed.”
Chen ended the call.
The work was proceeding according to plan. Meanwhile, Chloe Jefferson sat in an apartment Okonnell had rented for her—a safe location, guarded around the clock. She looked out the window at the November sky and thought about how her life had changed.
A month ago, she had been nobody. She had mopped floors, earned a meager wage, lived in a rental room. And now she was the heir to a massive fortune, a key witness in a criminal case, a woman who was supposed to be murdered.
She was not happy about the money. Not yet. Because she knew this price was the price of Evelyn Vance’s life, and that price obligated her.
The millions felt cold and heavy, like an oversized inheritance she could not yet carry. Her phone rang. Okonnell.
“Miss Jefferson, how are you?”
“Good. The bruises are healing. I don’t feel pain anymore.
Just the memory.”
“Good. I have news. Garrett is in custody.
The investigation is collecting the final evidence. The case will soon go to trial. In parallel, the civil case regarding the will is ongoing.
There will be a decision in 1 month.”
“And what should I do?”
“Wait. Testify when asked. And prepare yourself to be the rightful owner of Miss Vance’s entire estate after the verdict.
You must learn to carry this responsibility.”
Chloe was silent. “Mr. Okonnell, what if I don’t want it?
What if I don’t want all this—the money, the houses, the hospitals? I am afraid. I don’t know how to handle it.
It exceeds my imagination.”
Okonnell sighed. He understood her internal struggle. “Chloe, Evelyn didn’t choose you by chance.
She saw something in you that others didn’t. Honesty, perhaps. Or simply goodness.
She wanted you to have a chance. Don’t reject it. Take the money.
Build your life. But remember, you promised her to see this through to the end. And you will keep your promise.
This fortune is your tool for a better life, not your shackles.”
“I remember. I will do it.”
“That’s good. Hang in there.
