Chapter 7 - The Smell of Smoke
A faint, acrid scent drifted down the stone stairwell before either Arthur or Julian could make a move. At first, it was subtle—the sharp, unmistakable tang of burning wool and melting synthetic fibers. Then came the dull, heavy roar of a fire catching hold somewhere on the floor directly above them.
Arthur’s head snapped toward the ceiling. The old timber framework of the historic house was notoriously dry; if a fire had started in the dining room or the study, it would consume the ground floor within minutes.
“What did you do?” Arthur demanded, staring at Julian with fury.
Julian’s eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise, casting a quick, questioning glance toward his sister. “I didn’t light anything. I was in the pantry with the guests until a minute ago.”
Elena’s face went completely bloodless. She turned around and stared up the stairs as a thick plume of gray smoke rolled over the top landing, blotting out the warm light from the chandelier.
“Lily,” Elena breathed, the word escaping her lips like a punctured balloon.
All the cold calculation vanished from her face in an instant, replaced by a raw, maternal panic that Arthur had never witnessed before. Despite her betrayal, despite the theft and the cover-up, Elena had spent four years raising that little girl as her own, and the reality of the danger crashed down upon her with brutal force.
“Where is she?” Arthur roared, lunging forward past Julian before the younger man could raise the iron poker. He grabbed Elena by the shoulders, shaking her violently. “Where is Lily sleeping tonight?”
“The nursery on the second floor,” Elena choked out, coughing as the smoke began to pour down the stairwell, carrying the toxic heat of a rapidly spreading blaze. “The east wing. The side closest to the old oak tree.”
Julian swung the iron poker, clipping Arthur’s shoulder and sending him stumbling back against the stone wall. “Get off her!” Julian shouted, panic cracking his voice. “We need to get out of here, both of us! The smoke is going to fill the basement in two minutes!”
“Not without my daughter!” Arthur shouted back, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder where the metal had struck. He kicked out hard, catching Julian in the knee and sending the younger man crashing down onto the concrete floor, the heavy poker clattering away into the darkness.
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Arthur didn’t wait to see if Julian got back up. He scrambled up the stone steps, pushing directly through the thick wall of smoke billowing down from the ground floor, his lungs burning with every breath he took.
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