Mr. Howell didn't wait. He sprinted out of the kitchen, down the long wood-paneled hallway, and slammed open his private study doors. The room was in complete disarray. Books were pulled off the mahogany shelves, and the heavy brass floor safe sat wide open, its digital keypad torn apart with wiring hanging loose.
Mr. Howell: That snake... he took everything.
He reached behind the framed artwork on the wall, pulling out a hidden emergency key override he had installed years ago. His hands shook as he gripped the heavy steel iron key, spinning on his heel and heading toward the hidden door behind the library bookshelf.
The narrow concrete staircase leading down into the sub-basement was pitch black and smelled of damp stone and rust. Mr. Howell pulled out his phone, clicking on the flashlight as his boots clattered against the icy concrete steps.
Mr. Howell: Victoria?! Victoria, can you hear me?!
A faint, weak thud echoed from the heavy reinforced iron door at the end of the dark corridor.
Victoria: David...? Is that you...? David, please help me!
Mr. Howell: I’m here, honey! I’m right outside the door! Hold on!
He shoved the emergency key into the rusted lock mechanism, putting all his weight into turning the heavy iron tumbler. The lock gave way with a loud, metallic crack, and the heavy door swung outward.
The beam of his phone light illuminated his wife lying on the cold stone floor. Her expensive silk blouse was torn and stained with dark crimson blood around her shoulder, and her wrists were bound tightly with thick zip ties.
Mr. Howell: Victoria! Oh Jesus, Victoria!
Victoria: David... oh God, you came back... you came back early...
Mr. Howell: Don't move, sweetheart. Let me cut these ties off your wrists.
He pulled a heavy pocket knife from his suit coat, carefully slicing through the plastic bands binding her hands. He pulled his suit jacket off, wrapping it around her shivering, bruised shoulders as he pulled her into his arms.
Victoria: He has everything, David... he forced me to sign the wire transfer documents... he threatened to hurt Lily if I didn't give him the master authorization passwords for the Swiss trust fund!
Mr. Howell: I don't give a damn about the money, Victoria! Are you hit? Why are you bleeding?
Victoria: He shoved me into the wine rack when I tried to fight him off... shattered glass cut my shoulder deeply...
Mr. Howell: I'm getting you out of here right now. We're going straight to the hospital.
Victoria: No, David, listen to me! Victor isn't acting alone! He has someone inside your legal team!
Mr. Howell: What are you talking about?
Victoria: Before he locked me in here, I heard him talking on his cell phone! He was talking to your family attorney, Arthur! They’ve been planning to liquidate the entire family estate and trigger a fraudulent power of attorney!
Mr. Howell felt a cold wave of realization wash over him. Arthur, his personal lawyer of fifteen years, was the only other person who knew the structural layout of his offshore accounts and the exact terms of his life insurance policy.
Mr. Howell: Arthur... those two have been setting me up for a corporate takeover from day one.
Victoria: They wanted you out of the country so they could frame you for embezzlement and disappear with the liquid assets before you ever figured out what happened!
Mr. Howell: They thought I was a fool who only cared about spreadsheets. They picked the wrong family to cross.