Rutled

ed the Porsche into the side

in absolute stillness u

directly down the stone stairs into th

re slouching in swivel chairs with the

ed the heavy door open. "M-Ma'am? Wha

console keycard and ge

"Mr. Fowler gave strict orders that nobody accesses the

displaying an immediate administrative termination notice. "Say one more

notice, both gu

rds onto the desk and

across the mechanical keyboard as I pulled up the

n clips floode

o the master bedroom while I was awa

on my mother's heirloom j

ting in my father's study, plotting with a croo

crypted external hard drive an

s would bury

measured leather footsteps ech

ned a

th silver hair, wearing an impeccable British butle

softly, bowing deeply.

est lawn, and the day Destin found a pretext to dismiss him for "budg

thirty years before Destin engineered his dismiss

m. "Uncle Thomas. I'm sorr

s voice thick with emotion as he straightened his back, "is the greates

ds. "Before sunrise, I want every single person

st assured, Miss Kendall. I brought twelve of our vet

he purge w

d groundskeeper, and three maids

, reading their termination letters and v

osure agreements," Thomas declared. "Your severance has been wired. If you are n

tin, but his line went

ity officers, they grabbed their suitc

ck, access code, and security protocol ac

rom the master suite were loaded onto an

e, looking out over the manicured lawns a

of hot Earl Grey tea. "The grounds are fully secured

." I took the cup, gazing toward the Bosto

ate phone chimed with an encrypte

ingle string of authoriza

rand's priv