Chapter 4 - The Safehouse
Vance’s safehouse was a fortified bunker hidden beneath an abandoned textile factory on the edge of the city. It smelled of gun oil, stale coffee, and paranoia. Elise, exhausted and terrified, sat on a military cot, clutching a pillow over her pregnant belly.
"This is insane," Elise whispered as Vance tossed a heavy Kevlar vest onto the table. "Julian, you told me your family was just... difficult. You never said they hired hitmen!"
"My family isn't doing this, Elise. It's Victoria," Julian insisted, pacing the concrete floor.
"Are you sure about that, kid?" Vance interrupted, cleaning a semi-automatic pistol. "Victoria is crazy, sure. But she’s messy. An acid bomb in a velvet box? That’s theatrical. That’s personal. But the way it was delivered, the lack of a paper trail... it smells like old money. It smells like your mother."
Julian stopped pacing. Eleanor Vanderbilt was a cold, calculating matriarch who viewed Elise as a parasite trying to drain their family's wealth. She had threatened to disinherit Julian, but murder?
"My mother wouldn't kill her own grandchild," Julian said, though his voice lacked conviction.
"She doesn't view that baby as her grandchild," Vance corrected sharply. "She views it as a legal heir that will dilute her empire. If Elise dies before the baby is born, the problem disappears."
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Elise let out a muffled sob. "I can't do this. I'm having a baby in two months. I can't live underground like a rat!"
Julian knelt beside her, taking her hands. "We won't. I'm going to confront Eleanor. I'm going to find out exactly who signed the check for that acid."
