Chapter 7 - The Good Doctor
Doctor Mercer was not a pediatrician.
The realization hit Evelyn like a physical blow as she stared at the security monitor.
Antonio calmly pulled a heavy pistol from the table drawer and checked the loaded magazine.
He explained that Mercer must be the elite cleaner hired by the rival Calabrian family.
Mercer's presence on the flight was not a coincidence.
He was sent to ensure the poison worked, and when it failed due to Evelyn's interference, he had played the hero to avoid suspicion.
Now, Mercer had come to finish the job with an army of mercenaries.
The first explosion shook the stone foundation of the castle, sending dust raining down from the ceiling.
Gunfire erupted from the courtyard as Antonio's guards engaged the intruders.
Marco grabbed Evelyn's arm and told her they had to move to the underground bunker.
Antonio refused to hide, stating that he would not cower in a basement while his men died for him.
Marco ignored his boss, shoving Antonio and Evelyn toward a hidden door disguised as a bookshelf.
They descended into a dark, damp stone corridor that smelled of moss and old wine.
The sounds of the battle above them were muffled but terrifyingly constant.
Evelyn asked Marco how Mercer could have possibly found this secret location so quickly.
Marco did not answer, but the grim set of his jaw told her he suspected another leak in their inner circle.
They reached the massive iron doors of the castle's ancient wine cellar.
Marco pushed the doors open, revealing hundreds of wooden barrels stacked to the ceiling.
They moved quickly through the aisles, aiming for the emergency extraction tunnel at the far end of the room.
Suddenly, the heavy iron doors behind them slammed shut with a deafening metallic clang.
The locking mechanism echoed loudly in the dark cellar.
Marco rushed back and pulled on the handles, but they were sealed tight from the outside.
A speaker mounted in the corner of the ceiling crackled to life.
Doctor Mercer's calm, polite voice filled the room, sounding exactly as he had on the airplane.
He apologized for the inconvenience, but said he preferred not to risk his men in a close-quarters firefight.
Mercer explained that the ventilation system in the cellar had been reversed.
Evelyn smelled it before Marco even shouted a warning.
The sharp, overwhelming stench of gasoline was pouring from the air vents.
Mercer pleasantly informed them that they had exactly three minutes to make peace with their gods.
Then he was going to drop a flare down the ventilation shaft and turn the cellar into a crematorium.
Antonio leaned against a wine barrel, his breathing becoming shallow as the fumes filled the air.
He looked at Evelyn and sincerely apologized for pulling her into his cursed life.
Evelyn refused to accept that this was how she was going to die.
She looked up at the rusted iron grates covering the high basement windows.
She grabbed a heavy iron crowbar from a tool rack on the wall and swung it with all her strength against the thick glass.
The glass cracked, but did not break.
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The smell of gasoline was becoming unbearable, burning Evelyn's eyes and throat.
In the darkness, a single red flare dropped from the ceiling vent and hit the stone floor, casting a demonic glow across the room.
