Chapter 4 - The Panic Room
Ethan quickly scanned his thumbprint on the biometric sensor hidden perfectly in the floorboards.
The heavy steel trapdoor hissed loudly as it slowly opened to reveal a dark, incredibly narrow staircase.
He carefully carried Lily down the steep concrete steps as loud, violent banging echoed from the kitchen doors.
The trapdoor automatically sealed shut behind them with a completely impenetrable, heavy metallic thud.
They were safely locked inside the underground panic room, surrounded entirely by thick walls of reinforced concrete.
Ethan set Lily gently down on a small cot and quickly activated the room's emergency power grid.
Bright fluorescent lights immediately flickered on, illuminating shelves completely stocked with survival supplies and communication gear.
He rushed directly to the emergency landline phone to rapidly call the federal police for backup.
He picked up the heavy receiver, but his heart completely sank when he heard absolutely nothing but dead static.
Marcus had brilliantly anticipated this exact move and successfully severed the external communication cables before entering the mansion.
"Daddy, I am so incredibly scared," Lily whispered, her large blue eyes completely filled with falling tears.
Ethan knelt down and tightly hugged his brave little girl, promising her that he would never let anything bad happen.
He began frantically searching through the heavy supply crates for any kind of functional cellular device or radio.
Suddenly, Lily reached deep into the pocket of her small pink dress and pulled out a sleek smartphone.
"I took this from Nora's pocket when I bit her hand in the dining room," the brilliant child confessed softly.
Ethan stared at the highly expensive smartphone in pure shock and immense gratitude.
He quickly swiped the screen, realizing it was completely unlocked and fully connected to the mansion's private wireless network.
He opened the messaging application to desperately dial an emergency contact, but his eyes caught a highly disturbing text thread.
The latest message from Marcus completely detailed a highly lethal, secondary backup plan.
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Ethan read the horrifying words and immediately looked up at the main ventilation shaft on the ceiling.
The text explicitly confirmed that they had pumped highly flammable, odorless gas directly into the panic room's air supply.
