Chapter 4 - The Empty Wheelchair
Norah froze in the doorway of the bedroom.
The storm outside flashed lightning through the open balcony doors.
The heavy curtains whipped violently in the wind.
She screamed Salvatore's name into the dark room.
Dominic rushed in behind her with his weapon raised.
He saw the blood on the mattress and cursed loudly in Italian.
Norah rushed to the bed to examine the crimson stains.
She touched the blood and rubbed it between her fingers.
It was still warm.
Dominic checked the balcony but found no ropes or ladders.
Frank entered the room holding his bleeding side.
Frank said the intruders had retreated back into the woods.
Dominic demanded to know how they carried an eighty-year-old man out without being seen.
Norah noticed a strange scuff mark on the hardwood floor near the closet.
She walked over and pushed the heavy mirrored doors aside.
The back panel of the closet was slightly ajar.
It was a hidden doorway leading into the walls of the mansion.
Dominic looked shocked.
He admitted he had lived in this house his whole life and never knew about the passage.
Norah pushed the door fully open.
A narrow stone staircase led down into complete darkness.
She grabbed a heavy brass candlestick from the nightstand.
She told Dominic they were going down there right now.
They descended the stairs carefully.
The air grew cold and smelled of damp earth.
At the bottom of the stairs, they found a small concrete bunker.
Salvatore was sitting on a wooden cot.
He was holding a massive hunting knife in his good hand.
He pointed the blade toward a figure lying dead on the floor.
It was Elena the maid.
She was wearing a tactical earpiece and holding a syringe.
Salvatore looked at Norah with his piercing left eye.
May you like
He choked out a single terrifying sentence.
She works for my brother.
