Chapter 8 - The Fire and the Rescue"Call the police!" Clara shouted into her radio to the gatehouse guards, but the line was dead. The Kingsley family still had old security bypass codes from when the engagement was active—codes that were supposed to have been deleted but had been overlooked in a recent software update.
Clara’s primary thought wasn't for the main house; it was for Nora, who was sleeping in the cottage on the north side. She burst out of the main office and sprinted down the grand hallway toward the side exit.
As she reached the ballroom, she smelled it—the sharp, terrifying scent of gasoline, followed instantly by the thick, choking wave of black smoke. Priscilla had thrown the fuel through the shattered glass doors of the ballroom, the very room where she had tried to destroy Clara six months ago.
"Clara!" a voice shrieked from the smoke.
Clara stopped, covering her mouth with her sleeve. Through the rising flames, she saw Priscilla standing near the burning curtains, her face twisted in a mask of pure madness. "You took everything from me!" Priscilla screamed, tossing a lit match onto the floor. "My life, my reputation, my husband! Let's see what Damian thinks of his precious little maid when you're nothing but ash!"
The fire caught the heavy silk drapes, exploding upward into a wall of roaring flame. A heavy wooden beam from the ceiling fractured, cracking loudly as it gave way under the heat.
"Priscilla, get out! The roof is collapsing!" Clara yelled, taking a step forward despite the danger.
But Priscilla was frozen in terror as the flaming beam fell directly toward her. In an instinct born of pure selflessness, Clara lunged forward, throwing her body against Priscilla, pushing both of them out of the way just as the burning wood crashed into the floor where Priscilla had been standing.
The impact sent them rolling across the floor. Clara gasped as a piece of falling debris caught her arm, the intense heat searing through her sleeve. Before she could lose consciousness from the smoke, the heavy glass doors of the ballroom were completely smashed inward.
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A figure burst through the fire, terrifyingly reckless, shouting her name with a desperation that shook the burning room.
"CLARA!"
