Chapter 3 - The Devil in a Suit
Arthur looked at the little girl on the bed with a cold, calculating stare.
"Who is our dirty little guest, my dear?" Arthur asked smoothly.
Eleanor forced her face into a mask of complete ignorance.
She knew that if Arthur realized Lily was his secret hostage's daughter, they would both be killed.
"She is just a lost orphan I found wandering near the restaurant," Eleanor lied flawlessly.
"I plan to call child protective services in the morning to take her away."
Arthur chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving Lily's terrified face.
"How incredibly charitable of you, Eleanor," he sneered.
He walked closer to the bed, the silver cane thumping loudly against the hardwood floor.
Lily shrank back against the headboard, pulling the blankets up to her chin.
Arthur leaned down and gently patted the child on the head.
Eleanor noticed his knuckles turning white from the sheer force of his grip.
"Get some rest, little rat," Arthur whispered menacingly.
He turned around and walked out of the bedroom, locking the door from the outside.
Eleanor immediately sprang into action as soon as his footsteps faded down the hall.
She pulled a heavy brass lamp from the bedside table to use as a weapon.
Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled matchbook.
"Mommy told me to hide this and only give it to you," Lily whispered.
Eleanor opened the matchbook and found a set of coordinates hastily scribbled in blood.
She recognized the location instantly as the Blackwood Psychiatric Asylum.
It was an abandoned facility owned by Arthur's massive pharmaceutical corporation.
Eleanor realized her husband had kept her daughter locked in a dungeon for twenty years just to torture her.
She grabbed a heavy iron poker from the fireplace and smashed the bedroom window.
They climbed out onto the freezing fire escape and climbed down into the dark city streets.
Eleanor stole a running delivery van from the alleyway and drove straight toward the coordinates.
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She parked the van in the dense woods surrounding the decaying asylum.
Suddenly, dozens of bright spotlights flicked on, completely blinding them in the darkness.
