“She’s stealing from our father,” Victoria spat, pointing a finger at me.

“Deputy, arrest her.”

Deputy Vance didn’t move from the threshold.

“I’m just here to keep the peace, Ms. Vance,” the deputy said.

“The lawyer’s papers are real. You have to let them look.”

Victoria’s chest heaved as she stared at the blue document.

I stood up slowly, clutching the cold metal cylinder against my ribs.

My knees trembled, but I kept my shoulders straight.

“You have forty-eight hours, Victoria,” I said.

“Then I suggest we start looking,” Charles whispered to his sister.

He looked panicked, his eyes darting to the mahogany desk in the corner.

“If there’s something else hidden in this house, we need to find it first,” Charles said, his voice cracking.

Victoria didn’t answer him, but she suddenly lunged toward the nearest bookshelf.

She began pulling down heavy, leather-bound volumes, letting them crash to the floor.

“Charles, check the desk,” Victoria ordered, her hands shaking as she tore through a stack of old journals.

“Look behind the ledger books.”

The quiet library erupted into a frantic scramble of paper and wood.