Chapter 9 - The Blue Furnace Room
Trevor pulled Rebecca through a narrow corridor.
Police shouted behind them.
He fired twice, forcing the officers back.
Rebecca protected her stomach and tried to stay on her feet.
They reached a steel door painted faded blue.
Trevor demanded the code.
“I don’t know it.”
“My father told you.”
“He only said the room.”
Trevor slammed her against the wall.
“Think.”
Rebecca looked at the keypad.
Four digits.
Richard founded Northstar the year Caroline was born.
Rebecca remembered seeing the date on a family photograph.
1989.
She entered it.
The lock opened.
Trevor shoved her inside.
The furnace room had been abandoned for decades.
Dust covered the machinery.
A metal cabinet stood behind the old control panel.
Trevor searched it desperately.
He found a cassette tape, a sealed evidence bag, and a small notebook.
Rebecca saw Caroline’s name written on the cover.
Trevor reached for the cassette.
Rebecca grabbed the notebook.
He struck her hand.
The book fell open.
Inside were dates, account numbers, and handwritten descriptions of meetings between Trevor, Linda, and pension-fund managers.
Caroline had documented the theft.
The final page contained one sentence.
If anything happens to me, Trevor and Mom did it.
Trevor snatched the notebook.
“You should never have seen that.”
Rebecca backed toward the furnace controls.
“Caroline knew what you were.”
“She was jealous.”
“She was your sister.”
“She was going to destroy us.”
“You destroyed her.”
His expression changed.
Rebecca knew she was close to the truth.
“What happened on the boat?”
Trevor raised the gun.
“She wouldn’t stop screaming.”
The hidden microphone captured every word.
Rebecca forced herself to remain still.
“Did Linda help you?”
“She held the wheel.”
The confession came out with no remorse.
Caroline had tried to jump from the boat.
Trevor struck her.
She fell into the water unconscious.
Linda kept driving.
They never turned back.
Rebecca felt sick.
Outside, police rammed the steel door.
Trevor looked toward the sound.
Rebecca pulled the furnace emergency lever.
A loud alarm screamed through the room.
Steam exploded from an old pipe.
Trevor flinched.
Rebecca kicked the gun from his hand.
He grabbed her by the throat.
The door burst open.
Daniel tackled him.
Detective Ruiz pulled Rebecca away.
Officers handcuffed Trevor on the floor.
The notebook and cassette were secured.
For a moment, Rebecca believed it was over.
Then Ruiz’s radio crackled.
Linda had escaped the factory.
She had taken Richard with her.
Minutes later, Sarah received an emergency court alert.
Linda had filed documents claiming Richard was mentally incompetent and Rebecca had kidnapped him.
The judge assigned temporary control of Northstar to the nearest available family representative.
May you like
Linda.
👉 Trevor had confessed to Caroline’s death, but Linda had escaped with Richard and gained legal control of the company before police could stop her.
