Chapter 12 - The Crawlspace.The metallic walls of the ventilation shaft pressed tightly against Emily's trembling sides.
She crawled forward on her hands and knees, the scent of dust and industrial cleaner burning her nostrils.
Below her, the muffled sounds of brutal combat echoed from the IT closet.
She prayed that Marcus was still alive, but she knew she could not turn back to help him now.
Her only chance of survival was to reach the ground floor and find a way off the heavily guarded estate.
The laptop was dead weight, so she left it behind in the dark tunnel to free up her bruised hands.
She navigated the labyrinth of aluminum ducts, moving entirely by touch and blind instinct.
After what felt like an eternity, a faint sliver of golden light appeared through a vent in the floor ahead.
Emily crept toward it cautiously, peering through the metal slats into a lavishly decorated room.
It was Daniel Sterling’s private study, a mahogany-paneled sanctuary filled with rare books and expensive whiskey.
Daniel was pacing furiously in front of a roaring fireplace, a crystal glass clenched tightly in his hand.
Vanessa sat rigidly in a leather armchair, her face pale and her eyes completely hollow.
Daniel hurled his glass against the stone hearth, shattering it into a thousand glittering pieces.
He screamed at Vanessa, demanding to know how a simple maid had managed to evade their entire elite security team.
Vanessa stared into the flames, her voice barely more than a terrified, broken whisper.
She told her husband that he had underestimated the desperation of an innocent person backed into a corner.
Daniel laughed coldly, a cruel and hollow sound that made Emily’s blood run absolutely cold.
He declared that innocence was a myth invented by the poor to feel morally superior to the rich.
He pulled a silver revolver from his desk drawer, checking the cylinder with practiced, terrifying precision.
He calmly stated that once Vance found the girl, they would toss her into the incinerator with the nosy journalist.
Emily clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified that her rapid, ragged breathing would echo through the vent.
She had to keep moving, but her knee suddenly slipped on a patch of slick condensation inside the duct.
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Her shoe slammed hard against the thin metal floor of the shaft, creating a resounding, metallic boom.
Below her, Daniel froze instantly, his dark eyes snapping directly upward toward the ceiling.
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