Chapter 9 - Infiltrating the Shadows
Outside the grand gates of the Sterling Manor, a black sedan pulled into the thick bushes.
The rain began to pour down in heavy sheets, blurring the windows.
Julian Ross cut the car engine and turned to Maria.
"The security guards patrol the main entrance every fifteen minutes," Julian explained, pulling a blueprint from the glove box.
"There is an old servants' tunnel under the east greenhouse."
"It leads directly into the basement sub-level where Arthur keeps his private medical room."
Maria grabbed a heavy iron wrench from under the passenger seat.
"Let's go," Maria said, her voice filled with unwavering courage.
"I'm not leaving that house without her."
They slipped out of the sedan, keeping low under the shadow of the tall iron fence.
The rain soaked Maria's maid uniform instantly, but she didn't feel the cold.
Her mind was entirely focused on saving the woman who had treated her like family for years.
They reached the glass greenhouse, its windows covered in thick moss and dark ivy.
Julian pried open the rusted iron door with a crowbar, revealing a pitch-black staircase heading downward.
The air rising from the tunnel smelled of mold, ancient dust, and damp earth.
"Watch your step," Julian whispered, clicking on a small flashlight.
"This tunnel hasn't been used since the nineteen-twenties."
They crept down the crumbling stone steps, moving as silently as ghosts.
Above them, deep within the walls of the mansion, the floorboards creaked softly.
Arthur was walking down the long corridor toward his private laboratory.
He opened the heavy steel door of his wall safe and pulled out a fresh vial of clear liquid.
He turned the vial in the light, watching the deadly chemical swirl inside the glass.
"You should have signed the paperwork months ago, Emily," Arthur said to the empty room.
"You made me drag this out."
"You made me play the loving husband for three miserable years."
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He loaded the chemical into a fresh syringe and closed the lab door with a heavy click.
He had no idea that two intruders were standing right beneath his feet.
