Chapter 7 - The Escape in the Storm
I ran up the rear service stairs three steps at a time, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Outside, a sudden autumn thunderstorm had broken over Long Island, rain slamming against the stained-glass windows, thunder shaking the stone foundations of the mansion.
I burst into my third-floor room.
Mia was sitting up in bed, clutching her gray stuffed rabbit, her eyes big and round in the dim light of the nightlamp.
"Mommy?" she whimpered, rubbing her eyes. "There was loud thunder."
"I know, baby," I said, dropping to my knees, wrapping her in her heavy winter coat and pulling her small boots onto her feet. "We're going on a little adventure, okay?"
"Is the sad mister coming?" she asked innocently.
"No, sweetie. Just you and Mommy."
I scooped her up into my arms, hugging her tightly against my shoulder, and slipped out into the hallway.
The mansion was in absolute chaos. I could hear shouting coming from the medical wing—Matteo’s raised, furious voice arguing with Dr. Vance, punctuated by the steady, loud beep-beep-beep of Lorenzo’s heart monitors returning to full power.
I bypassed the main stairs and slipped into the grand library on the ground floor.
The room was dark, smelling of leather books and old wood. I hurried to the massive stone fireplace, reached inside the carved mantle, and felt for the brass keyhole Isabella had described.
I inserted the key and turned it.
With a low, grinding sound, the heavy oak bookshelves beside the hearth swung inward, revealing a narrow, stone-walled staircase leading down into the dark.
"Mommy, it's dark," Mia whispered, burying her face in my neck.
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"It's okay, baby. Mommy has you."
I pulled out my phone, clicked on the flashlight, and stepped into the secret passage, pulling the bookshelf closed behind us just as the library doors flew open upstairs.
