Chapter 9 - The False Arrest
The heavy steel vault felt like a slowly suffocating tomb.
David cowered in the corner, weeping loudly while rubbing soot from his eyes.
Margaret pushed Paige away and began desperately clawing at the impenetrable door, screaming for help.
Claire ignored the panic around her and focused entirely on keeping Ava calm and close to the floor where the air was cleanest.
Paige grabbed the wire cutters Claire had dropped and rushed over to the electronic lock panel near the doorframe.
She frantically ripped the metal casing off the wall, exposing a complicated web of fried circuitry.
Paige explained that if she could bypass the damaged relay, the emergency release mechanism would trigger.
Her fingers worked quickly in the dim red light, twisting copper wires together as the smoke grew thicker.
With a loud, metallic clack, the electronic lock disengaged, and the heavy door hissed open just a few inches.
Claire pushed her shoulder against the steel, throwing her entire weight into opening the door wide enough for them to escape.
They stumbled out into the hallway, coughing violently and gasping for the fresh, cool air of the basement.
They rushed up the stairs and burst out the front doors of the mansion onto the sprawling green lawn.
The entire property was completely surrounded by dozens of flashing police cars and heavily armed tactical teams.
Claire smiled with profound relief, assuming the SBI agents had finally arrived to save them.
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A commanding officer stepped out from behind a cruiser, raised a megaphone, and ordered everyone to freeze.
He pointed directly at Claire, shouting that she was under arrest for the kidnapping of Ava Donovan and the attempted murder of a police detective.
