Chapter 7
The ancient oak floorboards in the center of the study splintered like dry toothpicks, sending a cloud of gray dust and ancient insulation billowing up into the air as Dr. Harrison's right leg plunged straight through the floor up to his hip. He let out a sharp, agonized cry of shock as the jagged edges of the broken wood bit deep into his flesh, trapping him securely in the cavity above the hidden crawlspace. Clara threw herself backward just in time, her wheelchair rolling hard against the baseboard as the desk slid forward and crashed down into the gaping hole beside him.
"Help me, you little monster!" Dr. Harrison shrieked, his hands clawing frantically at the splintered floorboards as he tried to pull himself free, his face turning a deep, mottled purple from pain and panic.
"Get me out of here right now!"
Clara sat in her wheelchair near the bookshelf, her chest heaving as she stared down at the man who had terrorized her and Leo for the past six months. 8… 7… 6… The red countdown on the terminal was nearing its end, casting an eerie, demonic glow over the ruined room. She could hear the heavy mechanical whine of the exterior security shutters slamming down over the windows outside, plunging the study into near-total darkness save for the flashing emergency digits.
"Why did you hurt my father?" Clara asked, her voice dropping to a harsh, quiet whisper that cut right through his frantic screaming.
"What did he find out about the hospital funds that made you and Aunt Sarah lock him away?"
Dr. Harrison stopped clawing at the wood for a split second, his eyes widening in sheer terror as he realized she knew far more than he had ever suspected.
"Your father was a fool who didn't understand modern medicine," he wheezed, spitting a mouthful of dust onto the carpet.
"He wanted to report a routine accounting error to the board, an error that would have ruined everything we built! We didn't hurt him—we just made sure he couldn't destroy us!"
"You killed him," Clara stated plainly, the tears finally stopping as a cold, hard resolve settled deep within her bones.
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3… 2… 1…
The emergency terminal let out a long, high-pitched electronic beep, and the entire room went pitch black as the main power grid shut down completely, leaving them trapped in the dark with only the faint moonlight filtering through the heavy exterior iron shutters.
