Chapter 4 - The Betrayal
Sarah kicked backward blindly, her heels connecting with solid muscle.
The person holding her grunted in pain but did not let go.
"Sarah, please stop fighting me!" a familiar voice pleaded in a desperate whisper.
It was Mark.
He slowly removed his hand from her mouth and turned her around to face him.
His tuxedo was covered in dirt, and his lip was bleeding.
"What are you doing down here?" she demanded angrily.
She shoved his chest, stepping safely away from him.
"I burned the note to protect you," Mark said quickly.
"David was watching us from the hallway, and he would have killed you if he saw it."
Sarah shook her head, her mind spinning with confusion and fear.
"You locked me in the room," she accused him.
"I locked you in to keep you safe while I came down here to find her," he countered.
Sarah stared at the empty hospital bed in the center of the room.
"Where is my mother, Mark?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Mark ran a trembling hand through his perfectly styled hair.
"My father moved her," he confessed quietly.
"He is the one who faked the accident to take over her company."
Sarah felt her knees go weak as the terrible truth washed over her.
"And you knew about this all along?" she cried softly.
"I swear I only found out this morning," Mark pleaded, stepping closer.
He reached out to touch her arm, but she flinched away.
Suddenly, the heavy iron door slammed shut behind them with a deafening crash.
They both spun around in horror.
David stood on the other side of the barred window, holding a large metal chain.
He wrapped the chain around the door handle and secured it tightly with a new lock.
"The boss wants you both out of the picture now," David sneered through the bars.
May you like
Then he reached for a red lever on the wall and pulled it all the way down.
The overhead vents immediately hissed as thick, white smoke began pouring into the locked room.
