Chapter 5 - The Secret Exit
The digital countdown beeped menacingly through the intercom system.
"One minute and fifty seconds, Salvatore," Gianni taunted over the speaker.
"Make your choice."
Nadia looked at Salvatore with absolute panic in her tear-filled eyes.
"We are going to die in here," she whispered, clutching the shotgun tightly to her chest.
Salvatore remained perfectly calm, his mind calculating the impossible odds.
"We are not dying today," he stated firmly.
He wheeled himself past the weapons vault toward a large, ornate rug covering the center of the library floor.
"Move this rug, Nadia," Salvatore ordered.
She quickly set the shotgun down and grabbed the edge of the heavy Persian carpet, dragging it aside.
Beneath the rug was a solid oak floorboard with a small, circular iron ring embedded in the wood.
"Pull it up," he commanded.
Nadia grasped the iron ring with both hands and pulled with all her strength.
The heavy wooden trapdoor creaked loudly, swinging upward to reveal a dark, narrow stone staircase.
"My grandfather built this escape tunnel during prohibition," Salvatore explained.
"It leads directly to the old boathouse on the river."
He looked down at his paralyzed legs, a bitter wave of frustration washing over him.
"I cannot navigate those stairs in this chair."
Nadia stared down into the dark abyss, then back up at the ruthless mafia boss.
"Then we will carry you," she said with fierce, unexpected determination.
Salvatore scoffed loudly.
"You weigh a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, Nadia."
"You cannot carry me."
Milo suddenly stepped forward and placed his small hands on the armrest of the wheelchair.
He looked up at Salvatore, his large brown eyes completely devoid of fear.
The child who had saved his life mere minutes ago was now offering his silent, pure strength.
Salvatore swallowed the pride that had defined his entire life.
He reached down and grabbed the handrails of the staircase, pulling his heavy upper body forward.
Nadia moved behind him, grabbing the heavy leather belt of his trousers to support his dead weight.
Together, they struggled down the narrow, damp stone steps in absolute darkness.
It was an agonizing, humiliating descent for a man used to ruling the city with an iron fist.
Every time Salvatore nearly slipped, Nadia gritted her teeth and pulled him back with surprising strength.
They finally reached the bottom of the staircase, tumbling onto the cold dirt floor of the tunnel.
"Thirty seconds, Salvatore!" Gianni's voice echoed faintly from the library above.
"Keep moving," Salvatore gasped, dragging himself forward across the dirt using only his arms.
Nadia picked up Milo and ran behind him, illuminating the dark tunnel with her cell phone flashlight.
The damp air smelled heavily of river water and old mud.
They scrambled through the claustrophobic passage as fast as Salvatore's massive arms could pull him.
When they were about fifty yards away from the house, a deafening explosion ripped through the earth above them.
The shockwave knocked them all flat against the muddy floor.
Dirt and rocks rained down from the ceiling as the tunnel violently shook.
A massive section of the ceiling collapsed directly behind them, sealing off the path back to the mansion.
They lay in the darkness, coughing on the thick dust.
"Are you both okay?" Salvatore called out, his voice hoarse.
"We are okay," Nadia answered, coughing heavily.
Salvatore pushed himself up and pointed toward a faint sliver of moonlight at the end of the tunnel.
They crawled toward the exit, pushing open a rusted iron grate to emerge inside an abandoned wooden boathouse.
The cold river rushed violently beneath the wooden floorboards.
Salvatore pulled himself onto a dusty wooden bench, completely exhausted and covered in mud.
"We made it," Nadia cried softly, hugging Milo tightly.
Salvatore looked out the broken window toward the mansion.
The entire east wing was engulfed in massive, roaring flames that lit up the night sky.
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Suddenly, the wooden doors of the boathouse kicked open with a loud crash.
Three heavily armed men wearing Gianni's crest stepped inside, raising their rifles directly at them.
