Chapter 5 - The Janitor's Escape
The heavy security boots stomped closer, the metallic clinking of a walkie-talkie echoing menacingly off the concrete walls of the subterranean service hallway. Clara froze mid-reach, her hand hovering just inches above the pile of gray janitorial coveralls. Panic surged through her veins, hot and blinding. If the guards found them here, trapped in the bowels of the estate with no phone and no backup, Julian would take Lily away, and she would never see her daughter again.
"Check the boiler room and the laundry bay," a gruff voice barked over the static-filled walkie-talkie just around the corner. "Mr. Vance is offering a ten-thousand-dollar bonus to whoever finds the bride first. Bring them both up to the penthouse."
Ten thousand dollars. Julian was putting a bounty on his own terrified fiancée and a three-year-old child, treating them like runaway property. Clara’s fear instantly crystallized into pure, unadulterated fury. She snatched the gray coveralls from the bin, threw them over her expensive designer wedding gown without bothering to take the dress off, and quickly zipped the heavy fabric up to her chin. She grabbed a dirty blue baseball cap from a nearby shelf, pulling it low over her forehead to shadow her face.
"Lily, sweetie, wake up for just a second," Clara whispered urgently, scooping the toddler back into her arms and tucking the edge of the oversized coverall jacket over the little girl's pink party dress. "We need to play a quiet game of hide-and-seek. Can you keep your head down against my shoulder and not make a single peep?"
Lily blinked sleepily, her small arms wrapping tightly around Clara's neck. "Okay, Mommy. I quiet."
Footsteps rounded the corner just as Clara turned toward the industrial washing machines, pretending to mop a patch of dry floor with an old, frayed push-broom she had grabbed from the corner. Two burly security guards in dark suits came to a sudden halt, shining heavy tactical flashlights directly into her eyes.
"Hey! You there," the lead guard shouted, flashing his light over Clara's makeshift disguise. "Did you see a woman in a white wedding dress carrying a kid come down this way?"
Clara kept her head ducked down beneath the brim of the cap, forcing her voice to sound raspy and weathered. "No, sir. Ain't seen nobody down here except the rats and the boilers. I'm just finishing up my shift in the linen department."
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The guard stared hard at her, his suspicious eyes lingering on the bulky shape beneath the oversized gray coveralls. He took a slow step forward, his heavy boots clicking against the concrete floor, lifting his radio to call for backup as he reached out a heavy hand to grab the brim of her cap.
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