Chapter 4 - The Escape Route
Thick gray smoke instantly filled the elegant study, blinding everyone inside.
Victoria grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him quickly toward the fireplace.
She kicked the iron grate as hard as she could with her designer heel.
The rusty metal gave way, revealing a dark, narrow stone passageway hidden in the walls.
"Crawl inside and do not make a single sound," she instructed the terrified boy.
Victoria slipped into the secret tunnel right behind him and pulled the grate back into place.
Through the gaps in the iron, she watched heavily armed men storm into her private office.
These men were not wearing standard police uniforms.
They were dressed in tactical mercenary gear, carrying silenced automatic weapons.
Marcus walked into the ruined room, casually stepping over the burning debris.
"Find the boy and kill the woman," Marcus ordered his men with a cold, ruthless tone.
Victoria clamped her hand tightly over her own mouth to stifle a gasp of betrayal.
Her most trusted head of security was actually the mastermind behind this entire deadly setup.
She gently pushed Leo forward, urging him to crawl faster through the dusty darkness.
The secret passage led deep down into the massive, sprawling basement of the historical estate.
Cobwebs brushed against their faces as they navigated the freezing stone corridors.
They finally dropped out of the tunnel into the mansion's massive, climate-controlled wine cellar.
Victoria quickly locked the heavy steel cellar door behind them.
She pulled out her cell phone to call the federal authorities, but there was absolutely zero signal underground.
"We are trapped," Leo whispered, tears streaming down his dirty cheeks.
Victoria hugged the boy tightly, promising him that she would protect him with her life.
Then, a dark shadow detached itself from the corner of the dimly lit cellar.
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A young boy stepped forward into the pale emergency lighting.
He looked exactly like Leo, but his eyes were completely hollow, and he was pointing a loaded handgun directly at Victoria's chest.
