Chapter 9 - Through the Fire
The crawlspace was a claustrophobic maze of copper pipes and electrical conduits, radiating intense heat from the raging fire below. Valeria scrambled forward on her hands and knees, dragging Lily behind her while the little girl coughed against the heavy smoke. Lorenzo took the rear, using the butt of his pistol to smash through weak wooden partitions whenever a turn was blocked by collapsed structural beams.
""Keep moving, don't look back!"" Lorenzo urged, his voice straining against the roar of the flames consuming the grand estate.
Every breath felt like inhaling glass. The mansion above them was literally tearing itself apart as the structural integrity failed under the engineered explosion. They emerged finally through a maintenance hatch into what used to be the grand library—now an apocalyptic landscape of burning books, shattered mahogany shelves, and falling crystal chandeliers.
Standing in the center of the burning room, silhouetted against a wall of roaring fire, was a tall figure in a dark trench coat. It wasn't Isabella. It was Julian, the family’s chief legal counsel and Lorenzo’s most trusted advisor for over a decade.
May you like
Julian turned slowly, holding a silver briefcase in one hand and a heavy iron poker in the other. A cold, calculating smile played across his lips as he watched them crawl out from the wreckage.
""Well, well,"" Julian mocked, his voice cutting easily through the roar of the fire. ""Family reunions are always such a messy affair.""
