Chapter 5 - The Laundry Chute
Charlotte stared at her mother’s handwriting, feeling a cold dread settle deeply in her stomach.
The entire journey to the penthouse had been a carefully orchestrated trap.
Richard knew she would seek out the master deed, and he had let her climb right into his snare.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the penthouse office burst open with a deafening crash.
Six heavily armed mercenaries in tactical gear stormed into the room, their weapons raised.
"Do not move a single muscle, little bird!" the lead mercenary barked aggressively.
Marcus immediately stepped in front of Charlotte, raising his stolen pistol to shield her.
"Run, Miss Vale, you have to find Victoria!" Marcus yelled over his shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" Charlotte cried out, refusing to leave him behind.
"Victoria took the deed to the industrial incinerator in the utility room," Marcus explained rapidly.
"Richard wants it destroyed perfectly so there is no paper trail for the foreign syndicate."
The mercenaries opened fire, the suppressed bullets shattering the expensive antique lamps.
Marcus returned fire, taking down two of the armed men with precise, lethal shots.
"Get to the laundry chute in the master bathroom, it drops straight to the basement level!" Marcus ordered.
Charlotte knew that staying would mean both of their deaths.
She turned and sprinted toward the marble-tiled master bathroom as bullets tore into the walls behind her.
She locked the heavy bathroom door, buying herself only a few precious seconds.
She ripped open the stainless steel door of the massive laundry chute used for the luxury linens.
It was a narrow, terrifying drop into pure darkness, but it was her only way out.
The bathroom door began to splinter violently as the mercenaries kicked it from the other side.
Charlotte took a deep breath, crossed her arms over her chest, and threw herself into the dark metal tube.
She slid downward at a terrifying speed, twisting and turning through the walls of the skyscraper.
The smooth metal burned her bare arms through her torn tank top.
The sheer velocity of the fall made her entirely dizzy and disoriented.
After what felt like an eternity, the chute suddenly curved sharply.
She shot out of the end of the tube and crashed violently into a massive pile of dirty hotel linens.
Charlotte groaned, her entire body aching as she untangled herself from the thick white sheets.
She had landed in the underground utility sector, the hottest and loudest part of the hotel.
The roar of the massive industrial boilers made it impossible to hear anything else.
She climbed out of the laundry bin and limped toward the glowing red light of the incinerator room.
She peered through the dirty glass window of the heavy metal door.
Victoria was standing in front of the roaring fire, still wearing her pristine white silk gown.
The wicked socialite was holding the golden-sealed master deed in her perfectly manicured hands.
Victoria smiled cruelly, raising her arm to toss the billion-dollar document directly into the roaring flames.
Charlotte kicked the heavy metal door open with every ounce of remaining strength she possessed.
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"Step away from the fire, Victoria," Charlotte commanded, her voice cutting through the noise.
Victoria spun around, her eyes widening in absolute shock as she saw the rightful heir standing before her.
