Chapter 6 - The Hamptons Gambit
While I lay in the dark master bedroom at Maplewood Grove, sixty miles away in the Hamptons, a second layer of the trap was silently springing shut.
My sister, Elena Vance, sat in the sunroom of her oceanfront estate, holding a cup of chamomile tea. Across from her sat Detective Sergeant Marcus Vance, dressed in a sharp grey suit, sipping espresso while monitoring the audio feeds from the burner phone.
"Mrs. Solomon," Detective Vance said, setting his cup down. "We just intercepted a secondary cell transmission from Maggie Solomon’s personal phone."
Elena turned her sharp, intelligent eyes toward him. "Who did she call?"
"She called a high-end estate liquidation firm in Manhattan," Detective Vance replied, a look of profound disgust on his face. "She was inquiring about the emergency appraisal process for high-value residential properties in Maplewood Grove. She asked if they could have an appraiser at the house by Friday morning."
Elena let out a short, cold laugh. "My sister isn't even dead yet, and that woman is already trying to sell her furniture."
"It gets worse," Detective Vance added, pulling a printed police document from his folder. "Our team in Florida just completed the interrogation of retired coroner Dr. Harold Vance."
Elena leaned forward. "Did he talk?"
"The moment we showed him the wire transfer logs from Apex Holdings, he folded like a lawn chair," Detective Vance said. "He signed a full sworn confession. Three years ago, David Solomon paid him fifty thousand dollars in cash to falsify Arthur Vance’s death certificate. The cause of death was listed as acute myocardial infarction, but Dr. Vance confirmed that David brought him a vial of Arthur’s blood that contained lethal levels of digitalis."
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes glistening with angry tears. "My father... he killed my father."
"And he’s about to try to finish the job with your sister," Detective Vance stated firmly. "Which is why we need to ensure that the moment David steps onto that property tonight, there is zero legal ambiguity. He must execute an overt act toward the murder."
From the adjacent room, the soft sound of Owen’s laughter drifted through the doorway. He was playing a board game with Whitney, his voice growing stronger with every passing hour.
Elena turned her head toward the sound, her expression softening before hardening back into pure steel.
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"My sister gave up three years of her life grieving for our father, thinking her own body was failing her, watching her son live in silent terror," Elena said, looking Detective Vance straight in the eye. "Don't just arrest David Solomon, Detective. Make sure he never sees the light of day again."
"Trust me, Ms. Vance," Detective Vance replied, checking the live telemetry on his laptop. "The trap is set. Your sister is currently lying in that bed in Maplewood Grove, and David’s car just crossed the county line."
