Chapter 7 - The Drainage Run
The descent was a violent blur of rushing cold air, scraping metal, and suffocating darkness. Elena tumbled out of the rusted chute, hitting a pool of freezing, stagnant water that soaked through her black dress and white apron. She gasped for air, coughing up bitter-tasting water as she scrambled to her hands and knees.
Above her, the faint echo of gunshots rang out through the vents.
Julian.
Fear turned to pure adrenaline. Elena forced herself to stand, her knees bruised and bleeding through her torn stockings. She was in a brick-lined sewer conduit, centuries old, with water rushing past her ankles toward a faint sliver of moonlight in the distance. Clasping the joined silver pendants tightly against her collarbone, she ran toward the light.
She emerged into the pouring rain on the muddy banks of the Blackwood River, which bordered the outer perimeter of the Sterling estate. The storm had intensified; lightning cracked across the blackened sky, illuminating the towering silhouette of the manor high up on the cliffside. Smoke was billowing from the third-floor windows of Julian’s study.
""Over here! I found the exit!"" a harsh voice shouted from the tree line.
Elena spun around. Two men in tactical rain gear, wielding high-powered flashlights and silenced sidearms, were crashing through the underbrush toward her. Behind them walked Victoria, holding a black umbrella, her champagne silk dress now hidden beneath a dark trench coat. In her gloved hand was a small, ornate remote control.
""Well, well. The sewer rat crawls out of her hole,"" Victoria said, her voice dripping with venomous amusement. ""Did Julian really think you could slip through my fingers, darling?""
Elena backed toward the churning river, mud sucking at her shoes. ""What did you do to him?""
""Julian was always too noble for his own good,"" Victoria sneered, signaling the two guards to flank Elena. ""He chose to protect a dead secret instead of marrying into my family’s banking empire. Lord Sterling has already handled him. A tragic fire in the west wing, you see. Smoke inhalation takes the best of us.""
""You're monsters!"" Elena screamed, tears mixing with the freezing rain on her face.
May you like
""We are survivors, Elena,"" Victoria replied coldly, raising her hand. ""Take the pendant from her neck. Then throw her into the rapids. Let the sea swallow the last of the true Sterling bloodline.""
The two guards lunged forward. But just as the first guard reached for Elena’s throat, a blinding beam of light shattered the darkness from the river, followed by the deafening roar of a twin-engine speedboat slamming onto the muddy bank.
