Chapter 15: The Vanishing Act
Chapter 15: The Vanishing Act
The east parlor was rapidly becoming a roaring inferno. Sirens finally began to wail in the distance, a symphony of flashing red and blue lights cutting through the darkness of the Greenwich night as local authorities responded to the gunfire and massive smoke plume.
Ethan kicked open the glass terrace doors, carrying Lily out onto the manicured lawn. The cool, fresh night air hit them like a physical wave, shocking their lungs. He set Lily down gently and turned back, coughing violently, expecting to see Rosa right behind him with the drive.
But the doorway was empty, save for a solid, roaring wall of orange flames.
"Rosa!" Ethan screamed, pure terror seizing his heart. He rushed back toward the blistering heat, ready to dive in, but the structural beams of the parlor finally gave way. The roof collapsed in a deafening shower of sparks, smoke, and shattered marble. The magnificent grand piano was crushed under tons of burning debris.
Hours later, the sun began to rise. Paramedics bandaged Ethan’s burns, and firefighters continued to douse the smoldering, blackened ruins of his once-great empire. He stood by an ambulance, a shock blanket draped over his shoulders, staring blankly at a small object clutched in his soot-stained hands.
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It was Button, Lily's worn cloth rabbit. Pinned to the rabbit's ear was a slightly scorched paper napkin, smelling faintly of smoke and industrial bleach. Written on it in elegant, incredibly familiar handwriting was not a chemical formula, but a set of complex GPS coordinates.
Below it, a single line of text that made Ethan's heart restart: "Songs belong to everyone. Come find us."
