Chapter 5 - Into the Dark
Hannah froze, shielding Leo with her entire torso as the vehicle surged forward. But the tires merely spun on the wet gravel, spewing mud before the vehicle—a sleek black SUV—slid sideways to a halt, cutting off the path to the main gate.
The driver’s door flew open. A figure stumbled out, panting heavily.
“Get in!”
It was Julian. His charcoal suit jacket was torn at the shoulder, blood dripping freely from his knuckles, and a dark purple bruise already blooming along his cheekbone. He had made it out through the cellar stairs.
Hannah didn’t ask questions. She scrambled into the passenger seat, pulling the door shut just as Dennis burst through the kitchen exit into the rain, raising his weapon with both hands.
Julian threw the SUV into reverse. Dennis fired twice; the rear window spiderwebbed into a thousand opaque cracks with a dull thud of reinforced ballistic glass. Victoria had ordered the company car outfitted with armored panels months ago—a security measure that was now saving their lives.
Julian slammed his foot on the accelerator, whipping the steering wheel around. The tires gripped the road, hurtling them down the private, winding drive of the Cole estate.
“Are you hurt?” Julian gasped, his knuckles pale against the wheel as he checked the rearview mirror. The estate gates were approaching fast. He reached for the dashboard visor, tearing down the gate remote and smashing the button.
The iron gates slowly groaned inward, just wide enough for the SUV to scrape through, shearing off the passenger-side mirror with a screech of tearing metal.
“I’m fine... he’s fine,” Hannah sobbed, checking Leo frantically. The child had quieted down, his small fingers clinging to the fabric of Hannah’s torn apron. “Mr. Cole, your wife... Dennis... they aren't going to let us leave town.”
“Victoria’s father owns the local precinct,” Julian said grimly, merging onto the dark, rain-swept highway with the headlights switched off to avoid detection. “If we go to the police here, Dennis will be waiting for us in the holding cells before midnight.”
“Then where are we going?”
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Julian glanced sideways at the shivering girl and the child she was protecting with her life. “Somewhere her money has no power. But first, Hannah... you need to tell me the truth. Why did she want Leo dead? He was supposed to secure our fortune.”
Hannah looked down at the infant, tears spilling silently into the baby’s blanket. “Because, Julian... Leo isn't Victoria’s baby. And he never was.”
