Chapter 8 - The Edge of the Abyss
Pure, unadulterated terror flooded my veins with the force of an adrenaline injection.
I did not hesitate for a single second before sprinting directly toward the blazing inferno of my own home.
"Gideon, stop, the roof is going to collapse!" Marcus screamed, trying desperately to pull me back from the heat.
I shoved him away and kicked the burning front door completely off its weakened hinges.
The heat inside the hallway was absolutely suffocating, blistering the skin on my face and arms instantly.
"Lumi!" I roared over the deafening crackle of burning wood and shattering glass.
I heard a faint, terrified scream coming from the second-floor landing near the master bedroom.
I wrapped my thick leather jacket tightly around my head and charged blindly up the blazing wooden staircase.
Through the thick curtain of toxic black smoke, I saw the most terrifying sight of my entire life.
Maris was standing dangerously close to the edge of the burning balcony, holding a struggling Lumi over the railing.
The drop below was a steep, rocky ravine that led directly to a violent, rushing river.
"Stay back, or I will drop the little brat right now!" Maris shrieked, her face twisted in pure, psychotic rage.
She claimed that Lumi was never her real daughter, just a kidnapped prop used to make her fake identities seem more sympathetic.
My heart shattered for the beautiful, innocent little girl who had endured years of this monster's abuse.
"Let her go, Maris, you can take the money and just walk away," I pleaded, holding my hands up in surrender.
"I don't leave loose ends, Gideon," she sneered with a wickedly cruel smile.
The burning floorboards beneath us groaned loudly, signaling an imminent, catastrophic structural failure.
Maris suddenly pushed Lumi violently over the edge of the wooden railing into the dark abyss.
I screamed in absolute horror and dove forward without thinking about my own safety.
My bloody fingers clamped desperately onto the sleeve of Lumi's hoodie just as she began to fall.
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We were both hanging entirely off the edge of the burning balcony, suspended directly over the deadly rocks.
Maris walked slowly toward my white knuckles, raising her heavy boot to stomp my grip loose.
