Chapter 10
The freezing water hit Grace like a wall of ice as she broke the surface, gasping for air against the driving rain. She spat out water, her arms aching as she hoisted the golden retriever up above the waterline, pressing the puppy’s small nose into the fresh air. The puppy gave a weak, relieved whimper, licking the water from Grace’s chin.
They were floating in a small, sheltered cove behind the boathouse, hidden from view by a dense tangle of fallen willow branches and thick underbrush. The shore was steep and muddy, but the slope offered a path leading away from the estate toward the old highway.
Grace scrambled up the muddy embankment, her muscles burning with exhaustion, her torn maid uniform soaked and caked in dark earth. She pulled the puppy close against her chest, using her own body heat to warm the shivering animal.
Looking back toward the boathouse, she saw the amber glow of the radio transmitter still flickering through the cracked window. A muffled shout echoed from within, followed by the sound of scuffling and another sharp crash. Julian was still in there, fighting for them both.
Grace set the puppy down inside a hollow stump, securing it with her soaked apron to keep it from wandering back toward the water.
“Stay here,” Grace whispered, her voice cracking. “I’ll be right back.”
The puppy blinked its wide, soulful eyes, letting out a soft, trusting whine as Grace turned her back and scrambled back down toward the boathouse. She couldn’t run away now. Not after everything Julian had risked to expose the truth.
Creeping along the exterior wall of the boathouse, Grace reached the shattered window and peered inside. The scene was chaotic. Julian had managed to disarm one of the tactical guards, sending him crashing into the heavy oak workbench, but the second guard had Julian pinned to the floor, a knee pressed firmly into his chest.
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Eleanor stood near the military console, her face twisted in fury as she watched the analog display panel on the transmitter. The green signal light had stopped flashing and was now burning steady—a solid, unyielding beacon indicating that the data packet had successfully completed its transmission to the federal server.
“No!” Eleanor screamed, grabbing a heavy metal wrench from the workbench and smashing it down directly onto the glass screen of the transmitter, shattering the equipment into a shower of sparks and smoke.
