Chapter 5 - The Shadow of the Cliff
Eleanor Vance stood in the doorway, holding a compact, nickel-plated revolver in her gloved right hand. Beside her stood Martha, her face pale with terror, flanked by two burly private security guards wearing tactical gear.
"I must admit, Nora," Eleanor said smoothly, her voice utterly devoid of panic, "you possess far more resilience than your spineless father ever did. Breaking into a private residence in the middle of the night... very dramatic."
Nora stood up slowly, keeping Madeline firmly behind her back, her body shielding her child from the gun.
"Put the gun down, Eleanor," Nora said, her voice dropping into a register so low and lethal it made the security guards shift uncomfortably. "It’s over. I know about the transport codes. I know about the two million dollars you paid Harrison. The U.S. Marshals already have the hospital ledgers."
Eleanor let out a dry, chilling laugh. "Do you honestly think a local precinct ledger matters to a family that controls three seats on the Board of Federal Reserve Commissioners? By morning, those records will be designated classified medical files under federal quarantine protocols."
"You took my child from my arms!" Nora cried, her eyes flashing with a blinding rage. "You stole six years of her life!"
"I gave her a destiny!" Eleanor snapped, her aristocratic posture rigid as a iron bar. "You would have raised her in a two-bedroom apartment in Queens, teaching her to be average! Under my care, she will inherit a hundred and fifty million dollars and a seat at the table that governs global commerce!"
"She doesn't want your money, Eleanor!" Nora shouted. "She wants her mother!"
"She doesn't know what she wants; she's six years old!" Eleanor barked, nodding to the two guards. "Take the child. Put her in the car. As for Mrs. Bennett... file a report stating an intruder fell from the cliff edge during a robbery attempt."
The two guards stepped forward, reaching for Nora.
Madeline let out a blood-curdling scream, grabbing Nora’s coat. "No! Don't hurt my mommy!"
Nora didn't wait for the guards to reach her. She grabbed a heavy bronze desk lamp from the bedside table and swung it with all her strength, smashing the heavy base directly into the lead guard’s jaw.
The man groaned, stumbling backward into his partner.
"Run, Madeline!" Nora screamed, grabbing her daughter’s hand and lunging toward the side door that opened onto the second-floor balcony.
Eleanor fired a shot. The bullet shattered the glass panel of the balcony door, sending a spray of sharp fragments showering over the rug.
Nora pushed the broken door open, dragging Madeline out onto the cold, rain-swept stone balcony.
Below them lay the raging Atlantic Ocean, black waves crashing against the jagged granite rocks fifty feet down. The fog was swirling like white smoke, blinding and freezing.
The only way off the balcony was a narrow, slippery stone spiral staircase leading down to the cliffside walking path.
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"Hold on to me, baby!" Nora yelled over the roaring wind, lifting Madeline onto her back, her daughter’s arms locking tight around her neck.
Nora took the stone stairs two at a time, her rubber-soled boots digging into the slick granite as gunshot reports echoed from the balcony above.
