Chapter 4 - The Escape in the DarkThe flashlight beam cut through the bathroom door, slicing the darkness into sharp, sterile white lines.
Fiona pressed Arthur’s face against her shoulder, praying the boy’s rapid breathing wouldn’t give them away. The rhythmic dripping of the rain outside seemed to slow, matching the agonizing pace of Dr. Reed’s footsteps.
Step. Step. Step.
"Reed! Leave the bathroom!" Victoria’s sharp hiss cut through the tension. "The security monitors in the hall are on a backup generator. If the head guard, Marco, looks at the screens and sees us searching the room with flashlights, he’s going to ask questions. We need to cut the security feed from the main breaker first."
Reed paused, his flashlight beam hovering just inches from the marble partition where Fiona was hiding. "And leave them a chance to run?"
"They can’t leave the wing without a keycard," Victoria snapped. "I have the only master card for this floor while Dominic is away. They are trapped. Go to the breaker. Now."
The footsteps retreated. The heavy oak door of the bedroom clicked shut, and the room fell back into a heavy, suffocating silence.
Fiona didn't wait. She knew Victoria was lying about the keycard—there was a service elevator near the laundry chute that the cleaning staff used, and it ran on a mechanical override. She had noticed it during her first week of exploring the golden cage.
"Arthur, can you walk?" Fiona whispered, setting him down.
The boy nodded bravely, though his legs trembled. "The Sandman... he's Dr. Reed, isn't he?"
"Yes, baby. But he's not going to hurt you anymore. I promise. We have to be very, very quiet."
Fiona slipped back into the bedroom. She didn't grab her clothes or her bag. Instead, she grabbed the titanium trauma shears and slipped them into her pocket, then scooped up the hollow-bore needles and wrapped them inside a bloody pillowcase—her only proof of the attempted murder.
Stepping out into the grand, dimly lit corridor of the east wing, she felt the chill of the storm seeping through the stone walls. Every shadow seemed to stretch toward them like grasping hands.
Suddenly, a heavy footstep echoed from the grand staircase at the end of the hall.
It wasn't Reed. It was too heavy.
Marco. Dominic's head of security. A giant of a man who looked like he had been carved out of granite, whose only loyalty was to the dollar and the Costello name. Fiona didn't know if Marco was in on Victoria's plot, but in a house of wolves, she couldn't risk trusting a single soul.
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"Who's there?" Marco's booming voice echoed through the dark hallway.
Fiona grabbed Arthur's hand and bolted down the service corridor to the left.
