Chapter 6 - The Ultimate Sacrifice
Clara didn't sleep for three days. The terror was eating her alive. She couldn't tell Julian; he was halfway across the world, finalizing a deal that meant everything to his company. Furthermore, she was terrified that Julian, with all his power, would do something violent to Silas and end up in prison. She had to protect him. She had to protect the kids.
She needed five million dollars, and she didn't have access to Julian's corporate accounts.
In a moment of pure desperation, Clara opened the massive floor safe in the master bedroom. Inside sat the Sterling family jewels—a collection of diamonds, rubies, and heirlooms worth tens of millions. Julian had given her the code, telling her they belonged to her now.
With shaking hands, Clara took a heavy diamond and sapphire necklace—a piece she knew was worth at least six million—and slipped it into her purse. She felt like a thief, the guilt gnawing at her soul, but she promised herself she would confess to Julian the second Silas was out of their lives forever.
On Friday afternoon, Clara took a taxi to a seedy, abandoned warehouse district in Brooklyn, leaving the kids safely at the estate.
Silas was waiting in the shadows, looking older, dirtier, and meaner. He smiled a yellow, rotting grin as Clara approached.
"I don't have cash," Clara said, her voice shaking as she pulled the velvet box from her purse. "But this is worth more than five million. Take it, and you disappear. You never contact me, you never look at my siblings, and you stay away from my husband."
Silas snatched the box, opening it. The diamonds sparkled brilliantly in the dim light. Greed flashed in his eyes. "Well, well. The little maid really knows how to steal."
"We have a deal?" Clara demanded.
"Sure we do, little bird," Silas laughed, pocketing the box.
Clara turned and ran back to her taxi, tears streaming down her face. She had bought their safety, but she had betrayed her husband’s trust.
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What Clara didn't know was that Silas had no intention of disappearing. Five million was nice, but a billionaire son-in-law was a limitless ATM. And someone else had been following Clara.
Beatrice Sterling’s private investigator snapped a dozen photos of Clara handing a priceless family heirloom to a dirty, unknown man in a Brooklyn alley.
