Chapter 6 - The Glass Cage
The thick, noxious white smoke rapidly filled the master bedroom, burning my eyes and violently stinging my throat.
I began coughing uncontrollably, realizing Victoria was trying to forcefully flush us out of our safe room.
I dropped the heavy bronze lamp and sprinted aggressively back into the walk-in closet where Lily was hiding.
I grabbed several expensive silk shirts, soaked them completely in water from the master bathroom sink, and wrapped them tightly around our faces.
"Breathe exclusively through the wet cloth, Lily, and keep your eyes completely closed," I instructed my terrified, crying daughter.
I knew the reinforced oak doors were far too thick to break down, and the steel window shutters were virtually indestructible.
However, the massive floor-to-ceiling glass wall separating the master bedroom from the interior balcony was not equipped with steel shutters.
The glass was highly advanced, impact-resistant security glass, designed specifically to withstand hurricane-force winds and heavy blunt trauma.
I grabbed a heavy, solid steel dumbbell from my home gym corner and completely ignored the burning in my lungs.
I swung the heavy metal weight with absolutely every single ounce of desperate, terrified adrenaline pumping through my veins.
The steel crashed violently against the thick glass, producing a deafening crack, but the panel completely refused to shatter.
I swung again and again, my muscles screaming in pure agony as small, spiderweb cracks finally began to form.
With one final, massive, furious strike, the entire reinforced glass wall violently shattered into thousands of tiny, glittering pieces.
I scooped Lily up in my arms and aggressively dove through the broken opening just as the room became entirely consumed by the deadly gas.
We landed heavily on the plush carpet of the interior balcony, safely breathing in the clean, highly filtered air of the main house.
I looked down over the balcony railing and saw Victoria standing in the grand foyer, holding a suppressed tactical pistol.
She looked up at me with a genuinely surprised expression, clearly impressed that we had survived her toxic trap.
"You are certainly making this much more difficult than it needs to be, darling," she sighed, aiming the heavy weapon directly at us.
I ducked violently behind the thick marble railing just as a suppressed bullet shattered a priceless vase completely behind my head.
"Marcus knows exactly who you are, and he is already on his way with the federal police!" I yelled aggressively to distract her.
Victoria simply laughed a cold, completely merciless laugh that echoed widely through the massive, empty mansion.
May you like
"Your private investigator is currently bleeding out in the trunk of a car parked at the bottom of the hill," she revealed wickedly.
My only hope of outside rescue had just been violently and entirely ripped completely away from me.
