Chapter 6: The Brass Defense
The heavy thud from inside the coffin reverberated through the floorboards, startling Maria and freezing her mid-step. Her eyes snapped toward the living room entrance, the calculated calm finally fracturing into raw panic.
""He's awake,"" Leo whispered, a surge of adrenaline overpowering his fear.
Without waiting for Maria to recover, Leo lunged forward, gripping the heavy brass candlestick with both hands. He swung it in a wide, sweeping arc, smashing it against the antique side table and sending a ceramic lamp crashing to the floor in a shower of shards. The deafening crash shattered the suffocating quiet of the house, buying him precious seconds.
Maria stumbled back, her silk robe tangling around her ankles as she tried to dodge the falling debris. ""Are you insane?"" she screamed, her carefully maintained composure entirely disintegrating. ""You'll wake the entire neighborhood!""
""Good!"" Leo roared back, sprinting toward the heavy wooden coffin. ""Help! Somebody help us! He's in here!""
He threw himself against the polished lid, ignoring Maria’s warning about the contagious disease—a lie that now tasted like poison. His fingers clawed at the heavy gold handles, searching for the latches. The coffin was secured with heavy industrial clasps, designed to look decorative from a distance but engineered to lock tight from the outside.
Maria recovered quickly, her face twisting into a snarl. She lunged at Leo, her fingernails catching the fabric of his black suit jacket, yanking him backward with surprising strength. ""Get away from him, you little fool! You're ruining everything!""
Leo stumbled, his elbow slamming into the edge of a floral wreath, sending white lilies scattering across the floor. He spun around, raising the brass candlestick as a makeshift club to keep her at bay. Maria stopped, chest heaving, her eyes darting between the heavy weapon in his hand and the rattling coffin.
Inside the box, Arthur’s muffled screams grew frantic. He was thrashing against the restraints, desperate to break the wooden barrier that separated him from his son. The sound was agonizing—a muffled, desperate plea from the dark.
""Open it, Maria! Where's the key?"" Leo demanded, his voice cracking with fury and desperation.
""There is no key,"" Maria spat out, her voice dripping with venom. ""The locks are pneumatic. They're controlled from the security panel in the garage. And the code was wiped an hour ago.""
Leo stared at her, realizing she wasn't bluffing. They needed tools—heavy tools—to break the reinforced mahogany. Every second wasted brought the corrupt transport crew closer to the front door.
""The garage,"" Leo muttered, his eyes locking onto the door leading to the back of the house.
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He didn't wait. He bolted toward the kitchen, leaving Maria scrambling to intercept him. As he burst through the kitchen door, the cool night air from the open back window hit his face, carrying the distant rumble of an idling engine pulling up into the driveway.
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