Chapter 9 - Trapped in the Attic
"Maya!" Helen gasped, stumbling backward against the mahogany desk, her hands flying to her mouth.
Marcus reacted instantly. With a swift, calculated motion, he lunged across the room before Maya could raise her phone, slapping the device from her hand. It clattered loudly against the hardwood floor, sliding beneath a heavy antique wardrobe.
"You should have stayed in your car, girl," Marcus snarled, grabbing Maya by the arm and spinning her around, twisting her wrist behind her back with brutal force.
"Let me go!" Maya cried out, struggling against his grip, but Marcus was stronger and heavier.
Helen recovered her composure quickly, her eyes turning cold as ice. She walked over, picking up her briefcase and adjusting her purple cardigan with trembling yet deliberate fingers.
"You brought this on yourself, Maya," Helen said, her voice devoid of any maternal warmth. "You never knew when to mind your own business. Marcus, take her up to the attic. Lock her in until we finish packing the vehicle."
"Gladly," Marcus muttered, dragging Maya toward the narrow back staircase that led up to the darkened third-floor attic.
Maya kicked and fought every step of the way, but it was useless. Marcus shoved her forcefully through the low doorway into the pitch-black attic, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind her. A heavy bolt slid into place from the outside with a deafening, metallic thud.
Pitch darkness enveloped her. Maya fell to her knees, coughing as dust filled her lungs. She groped around the floorboards in the dark, searching for any tool, pipe, or loose board she could use to pry the door open. Her fingers brushed against an old, rusted metal toolbox.
She pulled it toward her, lifting the lid and feeling inside. Her fingers wrapped around the heavy handle of a claw hammer.
Outside the heavy door, she heard the muffled sound of footsteps retreating down the stairs, followed by the distant rumble of the black sedan's engine starting up in the driveway. They were leaving her behind to take the fall, locking her away while they made their final escape.
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Maya gripped the hammer tightly, standing up in the darkness and approaching the heavy wooden door, ready to smash her way out before time ran out for good.
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