Chapter 7
With adrenaline surging through her veins, Elena pulled the cracked smartphone from her pocket and hurled it across the polished marble floor toward the sweeping staircase. The device skidded loudly across the stone, the illuminated screen flashing brightly as it struck the base of the banister.
The unexpected movement startled Margaret, who instinctively flinched, while Daniel lunged forward to retrieve the phone before Elena could crush it. That split-second hesitation was all the opening Elena needed. She threw her entire weight against the heavy brass deadbolt of the front door, turning the lever with a loud, mechanical clunk. The heavy wood swung outward, letting in a rush of cool, damp afternoon air.
Without looking back, Elena bolted across the stone porch and plunged down the wide steps into the sprawling, manicured gardens of Oakridge Manor. Behind her, she heard Daniel roar in anger as he realized the distraction had worked.
“Catch her! Don't let her reach the main gates!” Margaret’s sharp command echoed across the courtyard, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps crunching on the gravel pathway.
Elena ran with everything she had, her light brown hair streaming behind her, the pain in her bruised cheek and arm entirely forgotten in the face of mortal peril. The estate was massive, surrounded by high wrought-iron fences and dense security perimeters. She knew she couldn't outrun Daniel on the open gravel driveways, so she veered sharply to the left, plunging into the dense labyrinth of the estate's sprawling hedge maze.
The towering green walls of the maze offered immediate concealment, swallowing her up in a dizzying network of tight corners and dead ends. She heard Daniel enter the maze shortly after, his heavy footsteps echoing against the damp earth. He was methodically searching, his voice calling out taunts in the damp air.
May you like
“You can’t hide in here forever, Elena!” Daniel shouted, his voice bouncing off the thick foliage, making it difficult to pinpoint his exact location. “This property belongs to us! Every inch of it!”
Elena pressed her back against a damp green hedge, trying desperately to regulate her ragged breathing. Her mind raced. The local police station was five miles away down the winding country road, completely unreachable on foot without crossing miles of open pasture. However, she remembered seeing a maintenance shed near the southern edge of the maze, equipped with old utility vehicles and, more importantly, a landline telephone and a security monitor system connected directly to the county sheriff’s dispatch. If she could reach that shed before Daniel cut her off, she could call for help that the Oakridge family couldn't pay off or silence.
