Chapter 7: A Dangerous Alliance
"Don't touch her!" John roared, lunging forward with explosive speed. He took down the first guard with a brutal, practiced sweep, sending him crashing into the bookshelf. The second guard drew a baton, but Clara acted on pure adrenaline, grabbing a heavy brass paperweight and striking the guard's arm, sending the weapon clattering to the floor.
"Run!" Clara yelled, grabbing John's jacket sleeve.
Instead of fleeing, John grabbed the original will from the desk, shoving it inside his inner coat pocket. He hauled Clara behind him as more footsteps echoed down the corridor. "We can't run out the front. The gates are locked."
"The service elevator," Clara panted, pulling him toward a discreet panel hidden behind a velvet tapestry. "It leads straight down to the old wine cellars. My uncle used to maintain them; there’s an exit tunnel leading to the perimeter road."
They slipped into the dark shaft just as Nora’s security team swarmed the study. The metal doors slid shut, plunging them into darkness, save for the faint glow of the control panel. John let out a heavy breath, leaning against the wall of the elevator as it descended.
"You've got a lot of fight in you for a maid," John noted, a faint, appreciative smirk breaking through his tense expression.
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"I learned a long time ago that if you don't fight for yourself in this world, nobody else will," Clara replied steadily in the dark.
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