Chapter 3 - The Shadow in the Dark
Eleanor grabbed a heavy brass candlestick from the fireplace mantle and ordered the boys to hide under the bed.
She stood silently in the pitch-black room, her breathing shallow as she waited for the bedroom door to swing open.
The door creaked on its hinges, and a tall, shadowy figure stepped into the room holding a silenced pistol.
Eleanor swung the heavy brass candlestick with all her might, striking the intruder hard on the side of the head.
The man grunted in pain and collapsed to the floor, dropping his weapon in the dark.
Eleanor grabbed the heavy gun, pulled the two terrified boys from under the bed, and rushed them toward the servant stairs.
They navigated the narrow, winding steps in complete darkness, guided only by Eleanor's memory of the sprawling house.
She knew they could not escape through the front gates because Richard would have already locked the estate down.
Instead, she led them out the back kitchen door and into the freezing, rain-swept gardens.
The massive glass greenhouse loomed in the distance, offering their only immediate source of cover.
They sprinted across the wet grass, the freezing mud ruining Eleanor's designer shoes and soaking the boys' clothes.
Once inside the humid greenhouse, Eleanor locked the glass door and pulled the children behind a row of tall exotic ferns.
Julian was shivering violently, but he held tightly onto Leo's hand to keep the younger boy calm.
Eleanor checked the magazine of the stolen pistol, realizing she only had four bullets left to protect her family.
Outside the glass walls, the sweeping beams of heavy flashlights began cutting through the torrential rain.
She could hear Richard's voice echoing across the lawn, angrily shouting for his men to search the gardens.
Eleanor knew she had to find a way to get a signal on her phone to call the police.
Suddenly, a massive hand clamped tightly over her mouth from behind, pulling her backward into the dark foliage.
She struggled wildly, raising the gun, but another hand easily disarmed her in the darkness.
A flashlight clicked on, blinding her temporarily as the light hit her face.
When her eyes finally adjusted to the glare, she saw the horrifying snake tattoo wrapping around the man's neck.
It was Marcus, Richard's dangerous, excommunicated brother, and he was smiling a rotten, terrifying smile.
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He looked past Eleanor and pointed a long, serrated hunting knife directly at Julian's chest.
He softly told Julian that it was finally time to go home with his real father.
