Chapter 8 - War in the Penthouse
CRACK!
The heavy wooden block smashed directly into Helen’s nose. Helen shrieked in pain, her head snapping back as blood spurted over her pristine white blouse. The silenced gun fired wild, the bullet tearing through the hand-painted mural on the wall with a soft pfft.
Helen stumbled back, disoriented and bleeding profusely.
"Run, Lily! Run to the panic room!" Claire screamed, grabbing the girl’s hand and sprinting out of the playroom into the main hallway.
The panic room was situated behind a hidden bookcase in Gabriel’s private study—a reinforced steel vault built to withstand rocket attacks. Gabriel had shown Claire the biometric scanner on her second day, registering her thumbprint just in case.
Footsteps roared down the marble hallway behind them. Two heavy security guards—men loyal to Helen—burst out of the elevator bay, weapons drawn.
"Get them!" Helen screamed from behind, her voice shrill with rage and pain.
Claire dragged Lily into the study, slamming the heavy mahogany door shut and sliding the solid brass bolt into place just as a hail of suppressed bullets shredded the wooden panels.
"In here, Lily! Hurry!" Claire commanded, dragging the terrified girl toward the bookcase.
She pressed her thumb against the hidden biometric scanner beside the desk. The red light flashed green with a cheerful beep, and the heavy steel door slid open quietly.
Claire shoved Lily inside the steel vault. "Stay inside, Lily! Don't come out no matter what you hear!"
"Claire! No!" Lily cried out, her tiny voice filled with absolute panic. She reached out her small hands, refusing to let go of Claire’s sleeve. "Don't leave me!"
Claire looked at the little girl who had become her entire world in four short days. She knew that if she got into the vault, Helen’s men would eventually bring heavy equipment to cut through the steel, or use thermite to breach it before help arrived. She needed to buy time. She needed to contact Gabriel.
Claire reached onto Gabriel’s desk, grabbed the emergency radio transponder, threw it into Lily’s lap inside the vault, and pressed the red manual override button on the inside wall.
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"I love you, sweet girl," Claire whispered with a heartbreaking smile.
The heavy steel door slid shut, sealing Lily safely inside the blast-proof vault just as the main study door was blown off its hinges with a deafening crash!
