Chapter 5 - The Fire Starts
The heavy scent of gasoline suddenly filled the cavernous warehouse.
Two of Margaret's men were pouring industrial fuel over the wooden shipping crates surrounding us.
Margaret stood safely behind a wall of armed guards.
She coldly explained that the family empire was far more important than a few defective relatives.
She blamed Emily for making me weak and blamed Mark for being a pathetic thief.
She intended to burn us alive and claim the five million dollar insurance payout to cover Mark’s stolen funds.
I raised the gun Mark had given me and aimed it at the nearest gasoline barrel.
I shouted that if anyone lit a match, I would shoot the barrel and blow the entire warehouse to pieces.
The armed men hesitated, looking back at Margaret for orders.
Margaret sneered and called my bluff, telling them to ignite the fuel.
One of the men pulled out a flare gun.
I didn't hesitate.
I pulled the trigger, aiming perfectly at the metal barrel nearest to the vehicles.
The gun clicked empty.
Mark had brought an unloaded weapon to a murder scene.
Margaret let out a sharp, cruel laugh.
The man fired the flare into the puddle of gasoline.
A massive wall of fire erupted instantly, cutting us off from the main exit.
The heat was blinding, and thick black smoke immediately choked the air.
I grabbed Emily’s hand, lifted Lily into my arms, and shouted for Mark to follow me.
We ran toward the back of the warehouse where the old loading docks used to be.
The fire was spreading faster than we could run, catching on the ancient, dry timber of the roof.
We reached a heavy metal roll-up door, but it was chained shut from the outside.
The smoke was getting thicker, and Lily started coughing violently against my shoulder.
Mark grabbed the heavy steel crowbar I had dropped earlier.
He wedged it under the metal door and threw his entire body weight onto it.
The rusted chain outside snapped with a loud metallic crack.
We slid under the door and tumbled out into the freezing snow just as the roof collapsed behind us.
We were alive, but we were completely exposed on the open docks.
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I heard the sound of car engines revving nearby.
Greg’s black SUV burst through the perimeter fence, heading straight for us at full speed.
