Chapter 4 - The Underground Cage
Eleanor woke up with a splitting headache and the taste of chemicals in her mouth.
She blinked against the harsh fluorescent light hanging from a low concrete ceiling.
She was sitting on a cold floor in a windowless room.
Thick iron bars separated her from the rest of the dark basement.
She instantly recognized the damp smell and the crumbling brick walls.
She was locked in the abandoned subterranean wine cellar of her own estate.
“So the queen finally wakes up,” a mocking voice echoed from the shadows.
Victoria stepped into the light, wearing a pristine white coat.
Thomas stood quietly behind her, refusing to meet Eleanor’s furious gaze.
“You are a monster, Victoria,” Eleanor spat, gripping the cold iron bars.
“No, Eleanor, I am a survivor,” Victoria replied with a cold laugh.
Victoria pulled up a wooden chair and sat just out of Eleanor's reach.
“I grew tired of waiting for you to die to inherit this empire.”
“Where is the little girl?” Eleanor demanded, her voice shaking with rage.
Victoria smiled and signaled to the dark corner of the cellar.
A bodyguard dragged the little girl into the light and threw her onto the dirty floor.
The child was covered in dust, but she still clutched the silver crescent necklace tightly.
“Let her go, she is innocent in all of this!” Eleanor screamed.
“She is the only thing standing between me and the entire trust fund,” Victoria said calmly.
Victoria reached into her coat and pulled out a thick stack of legal documents and a pen.
She slid them through the narrow gap in the iron bars.
“Sign over the estate and all your assets to me right now,” Victoria ordered.
“If I sign this, you will just kill us both anyway,” Eleanor said defiantly.
Victoria pulled a silver handgun from her pocket and pointed it directly at the little girl’s head.
“If you don't sign it in ten seconds, I will shoot her right in front of you.”
Eleanor’s heart shattered as she looked into her granddaughter's terrified eyes.
She snatched the pen and hastily scribbled her signature on every single page.
Victoria smiled triumphantly and retrieved the signed documents.
“Thank you for your cooperation, mother-in-law,” Victoria sneered.
May you like
She turned to the bodyguard and gave a chilling command.
“Lock the heavy steel door, turn off the ventilation, and let them suffocate.”
