Chapter 2 - The Exit
“Move!” Evelyn grabbed Lily by the hand, hoisting the girl into her arms as she pivoted toward the service exit behind the catering line.
“Stop them!” Eleanor’s shrill command cut above the gasps of socialites. “She assaulted my son! Don’t let that gutter trash leave with my family’s brooch!”
Julian was on one knee, wheezing through bruised ribs, pointing a shaking index finger at the double stainless steel doors. “Grab her!”
The two guards breached the perimeter, shoving aside terrified waitstaff carrying silver trays of hors d'oeuvres. One guard, a brute with a shaved head and a scar splitting his left eyebrow, reached Evelyn first. His heavy hand shot out toward Lily’s ankle.
Evelyn didn’t hesitate. Using the momentum of her turn, she grabbed a steel ice bucket from the dessert station and slammed it directly into the side of the guard’s knee.
Bone popped with a sickening crunch. The guard collapsed, howling in pain, scattering three gallons of crushed ice and vintage Dom Pérignon across the parquet floor.
“Mommy, I’m scared!” Lily buried her face in Evelyn’s neck, her small chest heaving with silent sobs.
“Look at me, baby,” Evelyn said, kicking open the heavy emergency door with her heel, her voice miraculously steady despite the adrenaline hammering in her ears. “Close your eyes. Count to ten. Do not open them until Mommy says so.”
The heavy door slammed shut behind them, cutting off the ballroom’s acoustics into the hollow, echo-filled concrete stairwell of the Grand Plaza Hotel.
Footsteps pounded down the metal stairs from above. Evelyn looked up. Two more guards were descending rapidly, radios buzzing with static and urgent chatter.
She looked down. The ground floor exit was four flights below.
Then, the elevator bell chimed directly on the landing beside her. The doors slid open, revealing an empty freight elevator. A single brass key was already inserted into the priority override slot, its LED indicator glowing green.
Someone had cleared the lift for her.
Evelyn stepped inside, hit the button for the underground loading dock, and watched the heavy doors slide shut just as the guards reached the landing above.
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As the elevator plunged downward, Evelyn’s phone buzzed in her evening clutch.
An unknown number lit up the screen with a single text: The loading dock is compromised. Look for the black Suburban with license plate 7X-K9.
