Chapter 15 - The Midnight Breach
The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight, officially marking the beginning of Daniel's eighteenth birthday.
Outside, a violent, raging thunderstorm battered the massive estate, exactly as the local weather forecast had predicted.
Lightning illuminated the dark bedroom, casting long, terrifying shadows across the walls.
Daniel had his laptop open on his bed, running a complex, automated script he had coded earlier in the server room.
At exactly 12:05 AM, the script executed flawlessly.
The massive estate suddenly plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness as Daniel intentionally crashed the primary power grid.
Downstairs, he heard Elias cursing loudly as the heavy backup generators sputtered and violently kicked on.
But Daniel's script had done exactly what it was designed to do: it created a three-minute reboot delay for the security cameras and the magnetic gate locks.
“Hold my hand and do not let go, no matter what happens,” Daniel told Emma.
They slipped out of the bedroom and sprinted silently down the back staircase, avoiding the main halls entirely.
The house was chaotic. Elena was shouting for Elias, demanding to know why the alarm system was currently offline.
Daniel and Emma reached the heavy kitchen door and pushed out into the freezing, torrential rain.
The brutal wind instantly soaked through their clothes, but they did not stop running.
They bolted across the massive, manicured lawn, heading directly for the ten-foot iron gates at the front of the property.
Daniel looked over his shoulder and saw the heavy floodlights of the main house suddenly flicker back to life.
The three-minute reboot window was officially over.
A loud, piercing alarm siren immediately began wailing into the stormy night, signaling a perimeter breach.
“He sees us! Run faster, Emma!” Daniel screamed over the deafening thunder.
They reached the massive iron gates, and Daniel aggressively pushed against the heavy metal bars.
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The magnetic lock was completely disengaged, and the heavy gate swung open into the darkness of the highway.
They had successfully breached the perimeter, but their nightmare was far from over.
