Chapter 13 - The Breakout
The sound of shattering glass echoed like a gunshot through the quiet Greenwich night. Alarms instantly began to wail throughout the estate, flashing red emergency strobes bouncing off the polished marble floors.
Ivy didn't hesitate. She grabbed a heavy floor-length velvet curtain, tore it from its brass rings, and twisted it into a makeshift rope, tying one end securely around the heavy iron bedpost. She threw the rest of the thick fabric out the shattered window, watching it dangle four stories down toward the manicured gardens below.
Lily woke up crying from the adjoining room, running into the suite with panic in her eyes. "Mommy! What's happening?"
"Listen to me, Lily," Ivy said, kneeling down and grabbing the little girl by the shoulders, her voice fierce and steady. "I need you to be very brave. I'm going to take you down this rope to the car waiting by the gates. Uncle Daniel is in trouble, and we have to save him."
Lily wiped her tears, nodding bravely. "I'll be brave, Mommy."
With adrenaline surging through her veins, Ivy wrapped the velvet fabric around her waist, holding Lily tightly against her chest as she lowered herself out the window. The cold wind howled, and her arms screamed in protest as her bare feet slid down the rough stone facade of the mansion, finally hitting the soft lawn below with a muffled thud.
Leaving Lily safely inside the hidden security alcove near the wrought-iron gates with strict instructions to lock the keypad, Ivy grabbed a heavy iron garden spade and turned back toward the main basement entrance.
The security guards were distracted by the flashing perimeter alarms, leaving the underground service hatch unguarded. Ivy slipped inside, the damp concrete corridors echoing with the sound of her racing heart.
She navigated the labyrinthine hallways until she reached Sub-Level Three—the private holding cells.
The heavy steel door to the interrogation room stood slightly ajar. Inside, Arthur stood over Daniel, who was slumped unconscious against the metal chair, the empty syringe resting on the table.
"Too bad she'll never know you died trying to save her," Arthur laughed coldly, raising a heavy brass paperweight to finish the job.
Ivy kicked the steel door open with such force that it slammed against the concrete wall with a thunderous crash. Arthur spun around in shock just as Ivy swung the iron garden spade, catching him squarely across the jaw and sending him crashing unconscious to the floor.
She dropped the spade, rushing to Daniel's side and tearing the handcuffs from his wrists.
"Daniel! Daniel, wake up!" Ivy cried, shaking his shoulder frantically.
Daniel’s eyes fluttered open slowly, a weak, weary smile touching his lips as he looked up at her. "You... you came back for me."
Before Ivy could answer, the heavy security doors behind them slammed shut and locked automatically, and the harsh overhead lights clicked off, plunging the room into pitch-black darkness as a familiar, cold voice echoed from the intercom speaker.
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"Touché, my dear," Jonathan Vanderbilt’s voice rang out through the facility. "You survived the trap. But let’s see how you handle a sinking ship."
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