Chapter 6
The digital clock on the bedside table read 4:15 AM when a soft, urgent tapping at the master bedroom door broke the silence. Mei, who had been fully dressed in travelling clothes with Leo strapped securely to her chest once more, froze in the center of the room. David, who was busy transferring the digital backups of his father’s hidden ledger onto an encrypted flash drive, slid the small device into his pocket and moved swiftly toward the door. He clicked the lock open and pulled it back an inch.
Standing in the dim hallway was housekeeper Mrs. Wu, her weathered face etched with deep anxiety. She glanced nervously down both ends of the corridor before slipping quickly into the room and pulling the door shut behind her.
"Mr. David, Mrs. Mei, you must leave right now through the service elevator," Mrs. Wu whispered urgently, her hands wringing the fabric of her apron. "Security chief Chen has just received orders from Madam Eleanor to disable your personal vehicles and lock down the perimeter gates. She knows you found the lockbox in the study; her private secretary noticed the floor safe sensor trip ten minutes ago."
David gripped the edge of the doorframe. "How did she know about the safe? That sensor hasn't been active in years."
"Madam Eleanor installed backup monitors after your father passed," Mrs. Wu replied grimly. "She watches everything in this house, Mr. David. She believes this estate belongs to the family dynasty, not to the individuals living inside it. If you stay until dawn, you will not be allowed to leave—neither of you, and certainly not the baby."
Mei stepped forward, adjusting the canvas straps that held Leo close to her heart. The baby was stirring, sensing the sudden spike of adrenaline in his mother’s body. "Thank you, Mrs. Wu. We won't forget what you've done for us tonight."
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Mrs. Wu reached out, her calloused hand briefly touching Mei’s arm. "Go to the old greenhouse at the edge of the east garden. There is a maintenance service gate there that is old enough to have been built before the digital security system was installed. It leads directly to the public lane where a taxi can be called."
Without wasting another second, David grabbed the two charcoal suitcases from the floor, handing one to Mei while keeping his other hand firmly locked around her arm. They moved through the labyrinthine corridors of the upper floor, avoiding the sweeping main staircase where security cameras recorded every second of movement. The air was thick with the silent tension of a desperate escape. They descended through the back of the service wing, the smell of damp brick and old cleaning supplies replacing the luxury of the main estate rooms. Every creak of the floorboards sounded like a gunshot in the predawn stillness, but they pressed on, driven by the absolute necessity of protecting their family.
