Chapter 3: The Shots in the Dark
Chapter 3: The Shots in the Dark
Harper screamed.
"MOMMY!"
The second gunshot echoed through the cellar before anyone could tell where it had come from.
Someone crashed into a wooden wine rack.
Glass bottles shattered across the stone floor.
The smell of expensive wine filled the darkness.
"Nobody move!" Dominic roared.
His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
Another loud crash answered him.
Marcus shouted.
"Boss!"
"They killed the lights!"
Dominic reached into his coat and pulled out a compact tactical flashlight.
A bright beam sliced through the darkness.
It landed on Mia.
She was curled around Harper, shielding her daughter with her own body.
Dr. Ellis lay beside them, covering their heads from the flying glass.
Daniel stood near the doorway with his pistol raised.
His eyes searched every corner.
Nathan was gone.
"So is Claire!" Marcus yelled.
Dominic's jaw clenched.
"They planned this."
Another beam of light flickered on.
Then another.
Within seconds, the guards illuminated the cellar.
The broken ropes still lay on the floor.
The missing cufflink remained where Marcus had found it.
But Nathan and Claire had disappeared.
Marcus pointed toward the back wall.
"The service tunnel."
Dominic looked up.
A narrow wooden door stood half open behind the oldest wine racks.
He had forgotten it even existed.
The tunnel had once been used during Prohibition to move illegal liquor beneath the estate.
No one had entered it in years.
At least, that was what Dominic had believed.
"They knew the escape route," Daniel said.
Dominic nodded once.
"They've used it before."
He turned toward Marcus.
"Seal every exit."
"No one gets off this property."
Marcus spoke into his radio immediately.
"All units."
"Lock the gates."
"Search every building."
"Shoot only if absolutely necessary."
A chorus of confirmations crackled through the speakers.
Dominic faced Daniel.
"With me."
The two men entered the hidden passage.
The tunnel smelled of damp earth and rust.
Their footsteps echoed against the narrow brick walls.
Fresh footprints covered the dusty floor.
Two different sizes.
Nathan.
Claire.
They had run this way.
Daniel shined his flashlight ahead.
"They're moving fast."
"They know where this leads."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"So do I."
The tunnel curved beneath the estate before splitting into two directions.
One path led toward the old carriage house.
The other connected to the abandoned greenhouse near the woods.
Daniel knelt.
He examined the dirt carefully.
"They split up."
Dominic looked at the footprints.
One set was larger.
One smaller.
"No."
"They're trying to fool us."
Daniel looked closer.
Then he smiled.
"You're right."
"The smaller prints are on top."
"They doubled back."
Dominic pointed toward the greenhouse tunnel.
"They're together."
Meanwhile...
Claire struggled to catch her breath.
"Keep running!"
Nathan grabbed her arm.
"They're right behind us."
"I can't."
"You'll have to."
She stumbled over loose stones.
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
Nathan stopped suddenly.
He looked at her with open frustration.
"You panicked."
"You ran downstairs."
"You should've stayed in the bedroom."
Claire glared at him.
"Because you handled everything so perfectly?"
"The child remembered."
"How was I supposed to predict that?"
Nathan's face darkened.
"I told you we should've taken care of both of them."
Claire's breathing stopped.
"You said we'd never hurt Harper."
"I lied."
Claire stared at him.
"You've changed."
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"No."
"I finally stopped pretending."
Far behind them...
Dominic heard the faint echo of voices.
He raised one hand.
Daniel froze.
"They're close."
The tunnel opened into a rusted metal staircase.
Sunlight poured through broken wooden boards overhead.
The abandoned greenhouse.
Dominic slowly climbed the stairs.
He pushed the rotten door open.
Cold morning air rushed inside.
The greenhouse was empty.
Broken flowerpots covered the floor.
Dead vines hung from shattered glass panels.
Daniel looked around.
"They're gone."
Dominic wasn't convinced.
He noticed something unusual.
Fresh tire tracks.
Two vehicles.
One had arrived recently.
One had just left.
He crouched beside the tracks.
The tread pattern looked familiar.
Very familiar.
Marcus's voice suddenly crackled through Dominic's radio.
"Boss."
"We found something."
Dominic pressed the receiver.
"What?"
"A body."
His eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
"You need to see this yourself."
Twenty minutes later...
Dominic walked into the estate's underground security room.
Marcus stood silently beside a covered figure.
A white sheet concealed the body.
Dr. Ellis had already confirmed the victim was dead.
Dominic pulled back the sheet.
His eyes widened.
It wasn't Nathan.
It wasn't Claire.
It was Victor Sloan.
Dominic's longtime head of security.
The man responsible for protecting the entire estate.
A single bullet hole pierced the center of Victor's forehead.
But that wasn't what caught Dominic's attention.
Someone had placed an envelope on Victor's chest.
His name was written across the front in thick black ink.
DOMINIC VALE.
Without a word, Dominic opened it.
Inside was a single handwritten sentence.
You rescued the wrong woman.
At the bottom of the page...
A symbol had been drawn in red ink.
A black raven.
Dominic's face went completely still.
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"No..."
"That organization was wiped out twelve years ago."
Dominic folded the letter slowly.
"No."
"They're alive."
May you like
"And somehow..."
"...they've been living under my roof the entire time."
