Chapter 7 - The Burning House
Arthur kept his stolen silver gun trained perfectly steady right on the center of Vanessa's heart.
"Put the weapon down right now before I shoot you."
Vanessa laughed wildly and hysterically while quickly wiping the thick blood dripping into her dark eyes.
"You simply do not have the necessary guts to actually shoot a woman, Arthur."
Arthur bravely stepped much closer while carefully keeping his broad body between her and his terrified daughter.
"I will absolutely do whatever it takes to protect my little girl from you."
Suddenly, the highly distinct, overwhelming chemical smell of raw gasoline filled the damp basement air completely.
Arthur nervously glanced upward at the wooden ceiling situated right at the top of the stairs.
A thick, dark liquid was violently dripping rapidly through the old floorboards directly above their heads.
Someone was actively and methodically pouring gallons of highly flammable fuel all over the main living room floor.
"Claire is finally making her ultimate move to finish this," Vanessa whispered with sudden fear in her voice.
She started coughing violently as the toxic chemical fumes rapidly grew stronger in the enclosed space.
"She is actually going to burn the entire house down with all of us trapped inside."
Arthur realized with absolute horror that his psychopathic dead wife had ruthlessly betrayed Vanessa too.
She clearly wanted all of the massive life insurance money for herself without having to split it with anyone.
A completely massive, deafening explosion suddenly rocked the entire stone foundation of the large house right above them.
The dry wooden stairs instantly burst into bright, blindingly orange flames that roared like a jet engine.
Vanessa screamed in pure terror as the intense, blistering fire quickly spread directly toward her expensive shoes.
She completely dropped her small gun and desperately tried to crawl away from the unbearable, scorching heat.
Arthur rapidly scooped Sophie up into his strong arms and quickly backed far away from the raging inferno.
The entire wooden ceiling directly above them began to crack, splinter, and groan under the immense heat.
Massive chunks of furiously burning debris rained heavily down onto the cold concrete floor all around them.
There was absolutely no possible way out through the actively burning, collapsing wooden stairwell.
Arthur suddenly remembered the old Victorian coal chute completely hidden in the far back corner of the basement.
He desperately ran through the blinding black smoke and violently ripped the heavy metal door completely open.
The rusted metal chute was incredibly narrow but just barely wide enough for them to squeeze through.
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"Climb as fast as you can, Sophie!"
He forcefully pushed her small body upward just as a massive, flaming wooden support beam snapped violently right above his head.
