Chapter 3 - The Basement Secret
I clamped my hand over Bennett's mouth to silence his terrified whimper.
I dragged him into the narrow coat closet beneath the staircase.
We huddled in the dark as heavy footsteps descended the wooden stairs.
I peered through the wooden slats of the closet door.
A tall man wearing a tactical vest and a black ski mask walked past us.
He was holding a suppressed pistol in his right hand.
He moved toward the kitchen, completely ignoring the front door.
This gave me a terrifying realization.
He wasn't trying to leave, he was hunting for us.
I remembered the old cellar door in the laundry room that led to an underground exit.
I silently pushed the closet door open and carried Bennett down the back hallway.
We reached the laundry room and I carefully opened the creaking basement door.
A faint groaning sound drifted up from the pitch-black darkness below.
I clicked on the flashlight app on my phone, praying the jammer didn't kill the battery.
The beam of light cut through the gloom and landed on a horrific sight.
Lauren was tied to a support beam, her face bruised and her mouth taped shut.
I rushed down the stairs to untie her, tears streaming down my face.
I ripped the tape off her mouth, expecting her to cry for help.
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Instead, she looked at me with pure terror and whispered a deadly warning.
She told me he was not here to kidnap anyone, he was here to retrieve the package I stole.
