Chapter 5 - The Secret Passage
Dominic did not say a single word as he gently pushed me and his son into the dark, narrow confines of the secret passageway.
He raised the heavy tactical shotgun just as the bathroom door completely shattered inward under Silas's brutal assault.
The deafening blast of Dominic's weapon shook the very foundation of the room, sending Silas diving for cover behind a marble vanity.
Dominic quickly stepped back into the tunnel and sealed the hidden door shut, plunging us into near absolute darkness.
"Keep moving straight until you reach the stairs," Dominic ordered, his voice strained and tight with obvious physical agony.
I turned on my phone's flashlight, illuminating a long, dusty stone corridor that seemed to stretch into the bowels of the mansion.
I carried Noah on my hip while Dominic stumbled heavily behind us, leaving a dark, terrifying trail of blood on the stone floor.
"The entire security team turned on me," Dominic confessed breathlessly, leaning against the cold wall to keep himself upright.
"Silas paid them off with the money he stole, and they ambushed me in my study while you were trapped in the North Wing."
I realized with a crushing wave of despair that there was absolutely no one coming to save us from this violent nightmare.
We reached a heavy steel door at the end of the tunnel, which Dominic struggled to unlock with his blood-slicked fingers.
The door finally groaned open, revealing the cavernous, dimly lit underground parking garage of the sprawling estate.
I rushed toward Dominic's armored black SUV, frantically hoping the keys were still hidden inside the vehicle.
Suddenly, the harsh fluorescent overhead lights flickered on, completely blinding us in the middle of the open concrete floor.
Mrs. Hargrove stepped out from behind a concrete pillar, holding a sleek silver revolver aimed directly at Dominic's chest.
"You have always been incredibly predictable in an emergency, Mr. Vale," the house manager stated with an arrogant, venomous smile.
She was not just a strict employee; she was the calculating mastermind who had orchestrated the entire coup from the very beginning.
"Put the gun down, Hargrove," Dominic growled, trying to raise his shotgun despite the immense pain radiating from his gunshot wound.
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Mrs. Hargrove simply laughed and pulled the hammer back on her silver weapon with a sharp, terrifying click.
"Drop the shotgun, Dominic, or I will put a bullet straight through your precious new nanny's head."
