Chapter 10 - Into the Night
The cool midnight air rushed over Julian’s soot-covered face as he shoved the iron grate open and hauled himself out onto the flat stone terrace of the estate's third-floor roof. Elena was already there, holding out her hands to help pull Clara through the narrow opening.
“Are you both alright?” Elena whispered frantically, coughing as she brushed soot off Clara’s beige dress.
Clara lay flat on the cold stone roof, gasping for breath, her hands clutched tightly over her swollen stomach. “The baby… Julian, I think… I think it’s coming too early.”
Julian’s heart skipped a beat. The stress, the poison, the terror of the fire—it had triggered premature labor. He pulled out his phone, praying for a cellular signal, but the screen displayed a dead icon with a red circle and slash.
“The cell tower on the estate grounds has been jammed or disabled,” Julian said, cursing under his breath as he tossed the useless phone onto the stone. He looked around the rooftop. The fire below was spreading rapidly; thick black smoke was now billowing from the windows of the study on the second floor, illuminating the manicured gardens below in an eerie, orange glow.
Across the wide stone courtyard, the grand security gates of the Vance estate loomed under the amber streetlights. Parked just outside the gates was a sleek black sedan with its engine idling, waiting patiently in the shadows.
“We have to reach the stables on the eastern wing,” Julian said decisively, pointing toward a slate-roofed building connected to the main house by a weathered stone bridge. “There’s an old Land Rover parked inside with an analog ignition. It doesn't rely on digital signals or estate security codes.”
“Can she walk?” Elena asked, looking down at Clara, whose face was pale and slick with cold sweat.
“No. I’ll carry her,” Julian said, lifting Clara gently back into his arms.
They moved quickly and silently across the slippery slate roof, keeping low to avoid being seen from the courtyard below. As they reached the stone bridge connecting the main house to the stables, the heavy wooden doors of the courtyard below burst open.
Helena stepped out into the moonlight, flanked by two burly security guards holding hunting rifles. She looked up at the roof, her face illuminated by the flickering flames licking at the windows behind them.
“Julian! You cannot run from your duty!” Helena’s voice boomed across the courtyard, amplified by the night air. “That child cannot be allowed to inherit the trust! If you cross that bridge, everything your family built turns to dust!”
Julian stopped in his tracks, turning to face his mother across the expanse of the courtyard. He tightened his grip on Clara, who let out a soft cry of pain against his chest.
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“You didn't build this family, Mother,” Julian shouted back, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “You bought it with blood and silence. And it ends tonight.”
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