Chapter 5 - The Suffocating Trap
The thick steel door of the panic room was designed to withstand a direct blast from a military explosive.
Unfortunately, it was also completely airtight to protect the occupants from chemical attacks.
Without the external ventilation system running, they only had a very limited supply of breathable oxygen.
Arthur leaned against the cold metal wall, clutching his bleeding head in utter frustration.
“She must have hacked the mainframe from her phone to shut down the air circulation,” he explained grimly.
Clara held Ethan tightly, trying to remain calm so the little boy would not consume oxygen through panicking.
“How long do we have until the air runs out completely?” Clara asked quietly.
Arthur looked at the digital display screen mounted on the wall, his face turning pale in the dim light.
“With three of us in here, we have less than twenty minutes before we lose consciousness.”
Clara looked at the billionaire, finally bringing up the shocking discovery she had made on his desk.
“You knew who I really was this entire time, didn't you?” she demanded softly.
Arthur let out a heavy sigh, nodding his head slowly as the guilt washed over his bruised face.
He admitted that he had hired private investigators to track down his late wife’s estranged younger sister.
He had intentionally hired Clara as a maid to secretly protect Ethan while he gathered evidence against Vanessa.
“I suspected Vanessa tampered with the car, but I needed absolute proof before confronting her,” Arthur confessed.
Clara realized that Arthur loved his son more than anything, and he had risked everything to keep him safe.
She refused to let them die in this dark, steel coffin while the murderer walked free.
Clara walked over to the electronic control panel located next to the heavy door.
She pulled a small hairpin from her messy bun and expertly wedged it into the panel's seam.
She popped the plastic cover off, exposing a complex maze of colored wires and circuit boards.
“If I cross the manual override wires, it might short-circuit the magnetic lock and open the door,” Clara said.
Arthur warned her that if she crossed the wrong wires, the system would permanently seal them inside forever.
Clara took a deep breath, isolated a red and a yellow wire, and touched their exposed copper ends together.
A shower of bright sparks erupted from the panel, followed by the heavy, mechanical groan of the steel door sliding open.
They rushed out into the study, gasping for the fresh, glorious air circulating in the room.
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But as they looked around the empty office, they realized Vanessa and her guards were completely gone.
Arthur looked out the shattered window and saw a black SUV speeding aggressively down the long, winding driveway.
