Chapter 6 - The Leap into the Cold
Leo didn't hesitate. Adrenaline surged through his small body, overriding his fear. He ducked under Mr. Vance’s outstretched arm, bolted toward the open French doors, and plunged headfirst out into the freezing night air. Behind him, a scuffle broke out—the sound of Clara shouting a warning, followed by a dull thud and an angry roar from Mr. Vance.
"Get him! Don't let the boy leave the grounds!" Mr. Vance’s voice roared into the courtyard, echoing off the stone walls.
Leo scrambled across the wet gravel, the sharp stones biting into his thin leather shoes as he sprinted toward the towering wrought-iron perimeter gates. The fog was thick, swallowing the estate lights and turning the massive oaks into ghostly sentinels. He could hear heavy boots pounding the gravel behind him, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
He reached the base of the old ivy-covered stone wall just as a flashlight beam swept across the grass inches from his feet. Clutching the brass key and the document fragment tightly in his fist, Leo squeezed through a narrow gap in the rusted wrought-iron bars—a gap only a small child could fit through.
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He tumbled out onto the desolate public road just as a pair of blinding headlights slammed to a halt inches from his face, tires screeching against the wet asphalt.
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