Chapter 3 - The Escape
The heavy mahogany door splintered violently, raining sharp pieces of wood across the expensive carpet.
Nathan knew they only had a few precious seconds before the armed officers stormed into the study.
He rushed over to the massive bookshelf and pulled a specific leather-bound encyclopedia.
The entire bookshelf silently swung outward, revealing a dark, hidden corridor built during the Prohibition era.
"Get inside, right now," Nathan urged, pushing Grace and Lily into the narrow passageway.
Richard the lawyer suddenly stepped into the study, holding his own set of car keys out to Nathan.
"My car is parked exactly three miles north of the estate on the old logging road," Richard said quickly.
Nathan grabbed the keys, offering a look of deep gratitude to the older man.
"What are you going to do?" Nathan asked with genuine concern.
"I am going to stall them," Richard replied, turning to face the broken doorway with a defiant posture.
Nathan closed the bookshelf tightly behind them, plunging the secret tunnel into pitch blackness.
He turned on his phone's flashlight, illuminating the damp, stone walls of the underground passage.
They walked in silence for nearly an hour, the cold air biting aggressively at their skin.
Lily clung tightly to Nathan's neck, finally feeling safe in the arms of the father she never knew.
They eventually reached a heavy iron grate that opened up into the dense, silent forest.
Nathan pushed the rusted metal aside and helped Grace climb out into the freezing night air.
They navigated through the thick trees until they finally spotted Richard's sleek black sedan hidden in the brush.
Nathan unlocked the doors and quickly started the engine, sighing with a brief moment of relief.
He turned on the car radio to check the local police scanner for any updates on the pursuit.
A breaking news alert immediately interrupted the static broadcast.
The female anchor announced that a prominent corporate attorney had just been found brutally murdered inside the Cole estate.
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The newscaster stated that billionaire Nathan Cole was now the prime suspect in the cold-blooded killing.
Nathan gripped the steering wheel in sheer horror, realizing Victoria had just framed him for murder.
