Chapter 12 - Breaking the Iron Gate
The heavy wrought-iron gates of the Vance estate loomed ahead like the bars of a giant cage, illuminated by the flashing red and white warning lights of the automated security system. Helena stood near the gatehouse control console, her face twisted in absolute fury as the Land Rover roared across the gravel driveway directly toward her.
“Lock the gates! Do not let them pass!” Helena screamed at the control box, hammering her fists against the keypad.
Inside the Land Rover, Clara let out a sharp, piercing scream, clutching her stomach as another violent contraction wracked her body. “Julian… I can't… the baby is coming now!”
“Hold on, Clara! Just a few more minutes!” Julian yelled over the roaring engine, his eyes fixed on the massive iron bars blocking their path.
The automated gates began to swing inward, but they were only half-open when Julian realized they wouldn't clear in time. There was no slowing down. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, squared his shoulders, and drove the heavy vintage vehicle straight into the center junction of the iron gates.
With a metal-shattering crash that echoed across the hills, the Land Rover plowed through the iron barrier, bending the thick bars outward like toothpicks and sending sparks flying into the night air. The impact threw Julian forward against the steering wheel, but the vehicle’s heavy frame held together, bursting through the perimeter and onto the winding public highway beyond.
In the rear-view mirror, Julian watched the burning estate shrink into the distance, a beacon of tyranny swallowed up by the dark hills.
“Elena, check her pulse. How is she?” Julian asked, his voice shaking for the first time since the night began.
Elena leaned over the front passenger seat, pressing two fingers against Clara’s wrist while wiping sweat from the young woman’s forehead. “Her pulse is racing, Mr. Vance. We need a hospital, and we need one now. If we don't get her to a doctor within twenty minutes…”
She didn't finish the sentence, but the unspoken terror hung heavy in the air.
Julian pressed the accelerator harder, pushing the straining Land Rover down the winding mountain road. But as they rounded a sharp curve overlooking the river bridge, the headlights illuminated a roadblock dead ahead: two police cruisers parked sideways across both lanes, their emergency lights flashing a blinding red and blue into the night.
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Standing beside the cruisers, resting his hand on his holster, was Sheriff Vance—Helena’s younger brother.
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