Richard took a step down the porch stairs, his eyes narrowed. He looked at Arthur's suit. The fabric was Vicuña wool. He knew that sheen. It was impossible.
"Look at the door!" Mia pointed, desperate to find a flaw. "It's bent! He can't even open it!"
Arthur was tugging at the rear handle of the Phantom. The metal was buckled inward from a heavy impact. It was jammed tight. He pulled again, straining, his face turning pink. The door didn't budge.
"Ha!" Mia pulled out her phone and started recording. "This is hilarious. You're going to have to climb through the window, Princess!"
"Embarrassing," Susan muttered.
Ophelia sighed. She touched Arthur's shoulder. "Step back, Arthur."
"But Miss, I can-"
"Step back."
Arthur stepped aside. Ophelia looked at the door. She ran her fingers along the seam, finding the spot where the locking mechanism was torqued against the frame. She wasn't just a medical student; she understood anatomy, and machines had anatomy too. Leverage. Fulcrum. Force.
"Arthur, the emergency kit. Get the pry bar," she said calmly. Arthur nodded, retrieving a sleek, carbon-fiber bar from a compartment in the trunk. "Here," Ophelia pointed to a precise spot near the top hinge. "The frame is weakest here. I'll hold the handle to apply counter-pressure. When I say now, put your weight into it."
She planted her feet. She gripped the buckled handle with both hands, using her body as an anchor. "Now, Arthur!"
Arthur wedged the bar into the gap and leaned. It wasn't a grunt or a strain. It was a focused application of physics.
SCREEEECH.
The sound of metal shearing against metal was excruciating.
With a loud POP, the heavy, armored door flew open. The hinges groaned but held.
Mia's phone slipped in her hand. She almost dropped it. Her mouth was an 'O' of pure shock.
Richard gripped the porch railing. That door... that was an armored door. It weighed hundreds of pounds. A normal girl wouldn't know how to open it.
Ophelia dusted her hands off. "Hydraulics are shot," she said casually to Arthur. "We'll need the mechanic to look at the struts."
"Yes, Miss. Immediately." Arthur looked at her with awe, then bowed his head. "Are your hands alright?"
"Fine."
Ophelia slid into the backseat. The leather was torn in one spot, but it was still softer than anything in the Barnes house. She rolled down the window.
She looked up at the porch. At the family that had made her life hell for ten years.
"By the way," she called out. "That trash compactor? The gears are probably stripped. Repairs on those industrial models are expensive."
Arthur got into the driver's seat. He pushed the ignition button.
The engine didn't sputter. It roared. A deep, guttural V12 growl that shook the gravel on the driveway. It was the sound of raw, unadulterated power.
Mia lowered her phone. She stared at the exhaust pipes. No black smoke. Just the shimmering heat of a perfectly tuned machine.
"That's... that's a real Phantom," Richard whispered, a pit opening in his stomach.
As the car began to move, Arthur reached over the seat and handed Ophelia a thick folder.
"A welcome home gift from your grandfather," Arthur said. "He apologizes for the wrapping getting crushed during the... incident."
Ophelia opened the folder. It was a legal document.
Appointment to the Board of Directors: Mercy General Hospital.
Acting Chairwoman: Ophelia Vance, on behalf of the Pennington Family Trust.
"Grandfather said since you enjoy playing doctor so much, you might as well own the playground," Arthur added. "The full transfer of ownership to you personally will take place when you are ready to reveal your identity."
Ophelia smiled, a genuine, small smile. "He's dramatic."
"He loves you, Miss."
Ophelia looked out the window as the Barnes manor receded into the distance. Her eyes hardened. "Take me to the hospital. Now."
"But Miss, the estate-"
"Now, Arthur. Someone is waiting."
Back at the manor, Mia was frantically zooming in on the video she had taken.
"Mom," she said, her voice trembling. "Look at the plate."
On the screen, blurry but legible through the dust, was the license plate.
NY 6.
"It's fake," Susan snapped, turning away. "Has to be. Only the Governor or the... the billionaires have single digits."
"Yeah," Mia said, deleting the video. "Yeah. She's just a fraud. A broke fraud."
But her hand was shaking.
