Chapter 5 - The Voice in the Static
Leo stared at the blinking green light on the walkie-talkie, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
He quickly pressed the receiver to his ear and pushed the transmission button with a trembling thumb.
"Hello?" he whispered, his voice shaking with a mixture of fear and desperate hope.
For a few agonizing seconds, there was nothing but the harsh, crackling sound of radio static.
Then, a weak but incredibly familiar voice broke through the interference.
"Leo, is that you, my brave boy?" Grandpa Henry asked, coughing heavily into the microphone.
A massive wave of relief washed over Leo, and he actually smiled for the first time in days.
"Grandpa, I have the master ledger, but Uncle Richard and his men are hunting me down," Leo whispered back quickly.
"Listen to me very carefully, Leo," Henry instructed, his tone suddenly becoming fiercely serious.
"You cannot trust anyone in that house, especially not your mother or the security staff."
Leo felt a sharp pain in his chest at the mention of his mother, but he forced himself to stay totally focused.
"Where are you hiding, Grandpa?" Leo asked, desperate to find the old man and get them both to safety.
"I am locked inside the old wine cellar beneath the greenhouse, but my oxygen supply is intentionally being cut off," Henry rasped.
Leo knew exactly where the greenhouse was, but it required crossing the highly illuminated central courtyard.
"I am coming to get you right now," Leo promised, gripping the walkie-talkie tightly.
"No, Leo, you must take the ledger to the police station in town immediately," Henry argued weakly.
"I am not leaving you behind to die in a basement," Leo stated firmly, showing a stubbornness he had clearly inherited.
He slipped out of the cedar wardrobe and peeked carefully out into the dusty, abandoned hallway.
The coast seemed completely clear, but the eerie silence of the mansion made his skin crawl.
Leo began sneaking toward the servants' stairwell, knowing it was the quickest route down to the ground floor.
Just as he reached the top of the stairs, a massive hand clamped down hard over his mouth from behind.
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He tried to scream, but a strong arm wrapped around his waist, lifting his feet completely off the wooden floor.
"Do not make a single sound, kid," a deep, gruff voice whispered directly into his ear.
