Chapter 12 - The Floor Below
Down in the dark panic cellar, Elena sat curled up on a wooden chest, clutching baby Leo tightly. The cellar was small, cold, and smelled of earth and old wine bottles.
Above her head, she could hear the heavy thud of boots stomping across the kitchen floorboards.
"Rossi!" Viktor’s loud, rough voice boomed through the house. "I know the whore and the bastard are here somewhere! Come out and face me, or I'll burn this place to the ground with them inside!"
Elena squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face into Leo's blanket. She prayed with every fiber of her being that the baby wouldn't cry.
As if sensing the extreme danger, little Leo stayed completely still, his tiny hazel eyes wide in the dark, looking up at his nurse.
Suddenly, the boots stopped right above the trapdoor. Elena held her breath, her blood freezing in her veins. She saw light flicker through the microscopic crack in the floorboards.
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"Well, well..." Viktor’s voice echoed directly above her. "What do we have under the rug?"
Elena heard the rug being yanked away, followed by the sound of heavy metal dragging across the wood. They had found the trapdoor.
