Chapter 4 - The Service Tunnel
I shouted Lena’s name until my throat hurt.
Marcus called every guard on the property. Gates locked. Cameras were pulled up. Cars were checked before they could leave.
No one had seen her pass through the front hall.
Claire stood frozen near the staircase.
“I didn’t touch her.”
I pointed at her. “You don’t get to defend yourself right now.”
Then the head housekeeper, Rosa, came running from the kitchen.
“There’s a door open downstairs.”
“What door?”
“The old service tunnel.”
I had forgotten it existed.
The mansion had been built in the 1920s, with narrow underground corridors servants once used to reach the carriage house without crossing formal rooms. Most had been sealed during renovations.
Most.
We found muddy footprints on the concrete steps.
Small ones.
And one adult set.
Marcus drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
“I’m going first.”
“No, you’re not.”
For once, I listened.
The tunnel smelled like wet stone and dust. Halfway through, we heard a metallic bang ahead.
Then Lena screamed.
I ran.
At the far end, Nora Bell was dragging Lena toward a maintenance exit.
Lena kicked backward and caught Nora in the shin.
Nora cursed.
Marcus shouted, “Let her go!”
Nora spun with something in her hand.
Not a gun.
A syringe.
She pressed it toward Lena’s neck.
I lunged before Marcus could stop me.
We hit the wall together.
The syringe skidded across the floor.
Lena crawled away.
Marcus pinned Nora face-first against the concrete.
I dropped to my knees and pulled Lena into my arms.
She shook so hard her teeth clicked.
“I thought they were taking me again.”
Again.
I held her away from me.
“What do you mean again?”
Nora began laughing behind us.
A thin, ugly laugh.
Lena whispered, “The first time they took me, I was five.”
Nora turned her head against the floor.
May you like
“No,” she said. “The first time, she was three days old.”
