Chapter 5 - The Basement Trap
Clara woke up on a cold, damp concrete floor with a blinding pain in her skull.
Her vision was blurry, and the smell of raw sewage filled her nostrils.
She tried to move her hands, but they were tightly bound behind her back with thick zip ties.
“I told you she was going to be a problem, Lawrence,” Veronica's voice echoed in the darkness.
Clara blinked rapidly, trying to focus her eyes on the figures standing in front of her.
Lawrence was pacing back and forth under a single, flickering fluorescent tube.
Veronica was leaning against a rusted boiler tank, avoiding Clara's gaze.
“Why are you doing this, Veronica?” Clara asked, her voice raspy and weak.
Veronica finally looked up, her eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and pure greed.
“Leonard found out Lawrence was using cheap, defective concrete on the new city bridge project,” Veronica explained.
Lawrence stopped pacing and smirked at Clara.
“Your genius son was going to blow the whistle and send me to federal prison,” Lawrence interrupted.
He pulled a heavy silver revolver from his jacket and checked the loaded chamber.
“So I offered his lovely wife a choice between becoming a wealthy widow or a broke prisoner,” Lawrence laughed.
Clara stared at Veronica in absolute disgust and horror.
“You faked his death to steal his company shares and cover up a fatal engineering flaw,” Clara whispered.
“The bridge collapses next week, I collect the insurance money, and Leonard takes the blame posthumously,” Lawrence confirmed.
He aimed the revolver right at Clara's chest.
“It's a perfect plan, but you just had to open that coffin,” Lawrence sighed.
He pulled the hammer of the gun back with a loud, terrifying click.
Clara closed her eyes and prepared for the end.
Suddenly, the massive rusted boiler tank behind Veronica hissed loudly.
A heavy iron pipe swung down from the darkness above, smashing directly into Lawrence's gun hand.
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The revolver fired into the ceiling as Lawrence screamed in agonizing pain.
Leonard dropped down from the rusted catwalk, holding a massive steel wrench.
