Chapter 3 - The Escape through the Shadows
The lamp smashed into Marcus's arm, sending his shot wildly off course into the plaster ceiling. Sparks flew from the severed electrical wire, plunging the nursery into momentary darkness.
"Run!" Julian roared.
He lunged forward, closing the distance in a fraction of a second. Julian tackled Marcus hard into the hallway, the two heavy men crashing against the wood paneling. Julian jabbed his elbow violently into Marcus's ribs, disarming him with a swift, brutal strike, but hear heavy footsteps sprinting up the grand staircase. Marcus had brought reinforcements.
"Take the child and go through the servant's passage behind the closet!" Julian barked over his shoulder as he traded brutal punches with his former friend.
The woman didn't hesitate. She gathered the sleeping infant wrapped tightly in his yellow blanket, slipped off her slippers, and sprinted toward the hidden door concealed within the nursery's deep walk-in closet. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer against her ribs as she fumbled with the hidden brass latch in the dark.
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Behind her, the sound of gunfire echoed down the long marble corridor, followed by the heavy thud of falling bodies. She pressed the panel, and the wall swung inward, revealing a pitch-black, narrow spiral staircase leading down into the subterranean foundation of the mansion.
Holding the baby close to her heart, she stepped into the abyss.
