Chapter 4 - The Escape and the Unraveling
Julian sprayed the fire extinguisher with aggressive precision, sweeping a thick white path through the burning carpet to create an opening for his family. Evelyn didn't hesitate. Holding Leo securely against her chest, she sprinted through the cleared path, with Clara, Victoria, and Marcus following close behind her.
They burst into the main corridor, coughing violently and gasping for the fresh air flowing from the open lower terrace doors. Julian immediately slammed the nursery door shut behind them to contain the structural fire, then turned to pull Evelyn into a desperate, tight embrace.
— Are you okay? Is Leo hurt? — Julian checked his son’s hands, face, and blanket with frantic care, his voice trembling with emotion.
— He’s safe, Julian. Clara saved him, — Evelyn panted, her eyes wide with lingering shock. — Your father... Julian, it was your father! He tried to poison Leo, and when that failed, he locked us in and set the house on fire!
Julian’s face turned deathly pale under the layer of soot. — My father? That’s impossible... he told me he was leaving for the city airport an hour ago!
— He lied to you, Mr. Sterling, — Marcus spoke up, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. — He paid me to jam the communications and erase the security footage. He's trying to cover up a murder.
— Where is he now? — Victoria demanded, looking down the dark staircase toward the ground floor. — If he thinks we're dead, he might be trying to leave the estate grounds!
— Vance was helping him load cases into the sedan when I broke out of the study, — Julian said, his eyes darkening with a mixture of profound betrayal and rage. — My father gave me a tea that made me feel unnaturally dizzy, but I realized something was wrong when I heard the alarm sensors going off in the west wing. I smashed the study door open with a fire axe.
— We have to stop them before they reach the main gates, — Evelyn said, holding Leo firmly. — If they escape the estate, Arthur will use his political connections to cover this up and spin a completely fake story to the authorities!
— The main gates are automated and controlled by the server room in the basement, — Julian stated quickly, stepping toward the private service elevator near the back hallway. — If Vance is driving, he won't be able to open the outer perimeter gates without my master security keycard. He’ll be trapped at the gate house!
— I can restore the estate's external communication system if I can get into the main server room, — Marcus offered, holding up his technician tool kit. — I can override Arthur's jammer and transmit a direct emergency distress signal to the state police!
— Good, — Julian said, turning to his wife. — Evelyn, take Victoria and Clara to the panic room behind the wine cellar. It has an independent air filtration system, concrete reinforced walls, and a separate landline connection that bypasses the estate's main servers.
— I’m not hiding while you face him alone, Julian, — Evelyn declared firmly, her gaze locked onto her husband’s eyes.
— You aren't hiding, my love. You are keeping our son alive, — Julian replied softly, placing a hand gently on her cheek. — Call the police from the panic room landline. I will intercept Vance and my father at the gate. I swear to you, I will end this tonight.
Julian led the group down the back staircase, avoiding the central grand hall, which was rapidly filling with smoke from the upper floor. They reached the basement level, where the cool stone walls offered immediate relief from the heat above.
Julian pointed down the left corridor toward a heavy steel door disguised as an antique wine rack. — That’s the panic room. The code is Leo’s birthdate. Go inside and lock it from the interior!
Evelyn nodded, knowing that protecting her baby was her absolute priority. She watched as Julian and Marcus headed down the right corridor toward the main server hub and the underground garage exit.
As Evelyn, Victoria, and Clara reached the hidden steel door, Victoria suddenly stopped in her tracks, her hand hovering near her purse.
— Victoria, what are you doing? Enter the code! — Evelyn urged, holding Leo close as she watched the smoke begin to drift down the basement stairs behind them.
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Victoria turned around slowly. The panicked expression on her face had entirely vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating look that made Evelyn’s stomach drop.
— I'm sorry, Evelyn, — Victoria said quietly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a sleek silver master keycard—the exact same card Julian thought only he possessed. — But Arthur didn't act alone. And this inheritance was supposed to belong to me.
