Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Smoke
The blinding white smoke filled the office in a matter of seconds.
The chemical fire retardant burned my throat and made my eyes water uncontrollably.
I heard Leo coughing violently in the hallway as he stumbled blindly in the thick fog.
"Mom, we have to get these cables off!" Harper choked out, pulling desperately at her restraints.
I used the sharp edge of the shattered wooden doorframe to saw through my plastic bindings.
The cable finally snapped, and I quickly untied my daughter's wrists.
We crawled low to the ground, trying to find breathable air near the floorboards.
Suddenly, I heard a heavy thud from the hallway, followed by the sound of a gun clattering away.
A silhouette moved gracefully through the dense smoke, completely unaffected by the chaos.
The figure stepped into the office, holding a damp cloth over her mouth.
As the smoke began to clear slightly, I finally saw her face.
It was Vanessa, Leo's mother, looking as elegant and ruthless as Graham had once described.
But she wasn't looking at me with anger.
She was looking at the empty safe and the unconscious body of her son in the hallway.
"He tried to take all the money for himself," Vanessa stated coldly, stepping over Leo.
She locked her piercing green eyes onto mine.
"I didn't trigger the alarm to save you, Elaine," she said, pulling a syringe from her pocket.
"I triggered it so the neighbors wouldn't hear you scream."
She lunged at me with terrifying speed, aiming the sharp needle directly at my neck.
Before she could strike, Harper swung the heavy bronze bookend with all her might.
The metal struck Vanessa's shoulder, sending her crashing into the mahogany desk.
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Vanessa dropped the syringe, but she pulled a small detonator switch from her coat pocket instead.
"If I don't leave with that money, this entire house burns to the ground," she threatened.
