Chapter 2 - The Rising Tide
I frantically felt along the cold stone walls of the wine cellar in the pitch black.
Lucia clung to my leg, her tiny body trembling with fear.
I screamed for help, but the thick walls of the Vale estate absorbed every single sound.
Suddenly, a loud mechanical hiss echoed through the dark room.
Freezing water began pouring through the air vents near the floor.
The icy liquid soaked through my cheap black server shoes in a matter of seconds.
Celeste’s voice crackled over the intercom, dripping with fake sympathy.
She told me the confession document was sliding through the mail slot in the steel door right now.
I scrambled toward the door and felt the thick parchment paper in my hands.
If I signed it, I would go to federal prison for grand larceny, and Lucia would be thrown into the foster care system.
If I didn't sign it, the water would soon rise above my daughter's head.
I banged my fists against the heavy steel door until my knuckles bled.
The water was already up to my knees, freezing my muscles and making it hard to breathe.
I lifted Lucia onto my shoulders to keep her dry, praying for a miracle.
Just as the water reached my waist, the sound of heavy gunfire echoed from the hallway outside.
Someone screamed, and a heavy body thudded violently against the steel door.
The intercom cut off with a sharp blast of static.
I held my breath, terrified that Celeste's men were preparing to finish the job.
Instead, a massive explosion blew the lock completely off the door.
The heavy steel swung open, releasing a tidal wave of freezing water into the corridor.
I stumbled forward, coughing and clutching Lucia tightly to my chest.
Adrian Vale stood in the hallway, holding a heavy iron crowbar and bleeding from a cut above his eye.
He looked at me with a fierce, protective determination that mirrored my own mother's eyes.
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He told me we had exactly two minutes to escape before Celeste’s father locked down the entire estate.
But as we turned the corner toward the garage, three armed men stepped out of the shadows and raised their weapons directly at Lucia.
