Chapter 3 - The Broken Pedestal
The foyer was completely silent.
Elise sat on the bottom step of the staircase.
She stared blankly at the wall.
Nora paced across the rug.
Her despair had quickly burned away.
Only a cold, sharp determination remained.
She would not let Greg win.
“We need proof,” Nora said.
Elise shook her head slowly.
“He has the courts in his pocket.”
“He has money,” Nora corrected.
“Money cannot buy a forged death certificate if we find the original.”
Elise looked up.
“Where would it be?”
Nora looked toward the heavy oak door of Greg’s study.
“Your father never destroys leverage.”
She walked quickly to the study door.
It was locked.
Nora went into the kitchen.
She opened the utility drawer and grabbed a heavy steel hammer.
She walked back to the study.
She swung the hammer into the brass doorknob.
Wood splintered.
The metal lock broke.
Nora kicked the door open.
She turned on the brass desk lamp.
The room smelled of expensive leather and cigars.
Behind the mahogany desk was a large oil painting.
Nora pulled the heavy frame off the wall.
A steel wall safe sat embedded in the plaster.
Elise walked into the room.
“Do you know the combination?”
Nora stared at the digital keypad.
“Your father only cares about one thing.”
“What?”
“His company’s stock ticker.”
Nora typed the six digits of the company’s founding date.
A small green light blinked.
The heavy steel door clicked open.
Nora pulled the door wide.
Inside were stacks of cash and velvet jewelry boxes.
She ignored them.
She reached for a thick manila envelope at the back.
She dumped the contents onto the mahogany desk.
Several old documents spilled out.
Elise gasped.
She reached out and picked up a piece of paper.
It was a birth certificate from ten years ago.
It listed Elise as the mother.
There was a signature at the bottom relinquishing rights.
“I never signed this,” Elise whispered.
Nora picked up a second document.
It was a handwritten letter from Diane.
The letter demanded fifty thousand dollars to stay quiet.
Nora looked at her daughter.
“We have him.”
Nora pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
She dialed a number she had known for twenty years.
Detective Marcus Miller answered on the second ring.
“Nora? It’s late.”
“Marcus, I need you at the county airfield right now.”
“What’s going on?”
“My husband kidnapped a child.”
Nora did not wait for his reply.
She hung up and grabbed the documents.
She and Elise ran back out to Elise’s car.
They sped toward the private airfield on the edge of the city.
The rain had finally stopped.
The tires hissed against the wet highway.
Nora gripped the dashboard tightly.
They reached the airfield’s security gate.
Nora rolled down the window.
She recognized the older guard in the booth.
“Bill, open the gate.”
The guard hesitated.
“Mr. Caldwell said no visitors.”
“I am Mrs. Caldwell,” Nora said sharply.
The guard pressed the button.
The metal gate rolled open.
Elise drove directly onto the tarmac.
A sleek white private jet sat near the runway.
The boarding stairs were lowered.
Greg was dragging Toby up the metal steps.
Elise slammed on the brakes.
She jumped out of the car before it fully stopped.
“Stop!”
Greg turned around on the stairs.
He sneered down at them.
“You are making a fool of yourself, Elise.”
Nora walked forward.
She held the manila envelope high in the air.
“I broke into your safe, Greg.”
Greg’s arrogant expression finally faltered.
Nora pulled out the forged relinquishment form.
“I have the original birth certificate.”
She pulled out Diane’s blackmail letter.
“And I have the proof of your payments.”
Greg let go of Toby’s arm.
He walked down three steps.
“Give me those papers, Nora.”
“I already sent photos of them to your corporate board.”
Greg stopped moving.
The blood drained entirely from his face.
His reputation was his entire world.
And it was already gone.
Red and blue lights suddenly flashed against the side of the plane.
Three police cruisers sped onto the tarmac.
Detective Miller stepped out of the lead car.
He looked at the papers in Nora’s hand.
Then he looked at Greg.
“Put your hands behind your back, Greg.”
Greg tried to straighten his tie.
“This is a family misunderstanding.”
Detective Miller pulled out his handcuffs.
“Tell it to the judge.”
The officers led Greg away toward the cruisers.
He did not look back.
Nora watched him go without a single ounce of regret.
She turned back toward the stairs.
Toby was standing alone on the metal platform.
He looked terrified by the flashing lights.
Elise walked slowly up the stairs.
She stopped one step below him.
She did not reach out to grab him.
She did not demand a hug.
She just looked at him with gentle, overflowing love.
“Hi, Toby.”
Toby wiped a tear from his cheek.
“Who are you really?”
Elise smiled softly.
“I am your mother.”
Toby stared at her face.
He saw the same dark hair and the same eyes.
He took a small step forward.
Elise opened her arms.
Toby practically fell into her embrace.
He buried his face in her shoulder and cried.
Elise wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes.
Nora stood at the bottom of the stairs and smiled.
Six months later.
The evening sun was setting over a quiet suburban street.
The large, empty estate was currently up for sale.
Nora stood in the small kitchen of her new townhouse.
She pulled a tray of roasted chicken from the oven.
She carried it into the modest dining room.
The table was not set with crystal or silver.
It was set with simple white plates.
Elise was laughing loudly in the living room.
Toby was sitting beside her on the floor.
They were trying to assemble a complicated puzzle.
Toby looked up and smiled at Nora.
He did not look terrified anymore.
He looked entirely at home.
Nora set the food down and smiled back.
She walked over to the front door.
She flipped the switch to turn on the porch light.
May you like
The darkness outside could no longer reach them.
They were finally completely safe.
