Chapter 3 - THE TRAP IN THE DARK
My blood ran cold as the metallic click of the door handle echoed in the silent room.
"Daniel?" I called out, my voice trembling, stepping backward toward the sofa where Sophie lay sleeping.
No answer.
The door swung open slowly.
Framed against the faint red emergency lighting of the hallway stood a tall, broad-shouldered figure. He carried a heavy flashlight in his left hand, the bright beam sweeping across the floor until it landed directly on my face, blinding me.
"Quiet, Emily," a harsh, raspy voice commanded.
It wasn't Daniel. It was Viktor.
He stepped into the room, pulling a heavy black suppressed pistol from his jacket. His face was smeared with dark blue engine grease, his eyes cold and unblinking.
"Where is the kid?" Viktor asked, stepping closer. The beam of light shifted from my eyes to the sofa where Sophie was stirring, squirming under the blanket as the bright light disturbed her sleep.
"Don't you dare touch her!" I screamed, throwing myself between Viktor and the sofa, shielding my daughter with my body. "What do you want, Viktor? Daniel knows it was you! He knows about the poison!"
Viktor let out a dry, humorless laugh that sounded like stones grinding together.
"Daniel is currently locked inside the security control room on the ground floor," Viktor said calmly, taking another step forward until the cold barrel of his gun was resting inches from my forehead. "By the time his men cut through the steel door, Alexander will be dead, and I will be five miles away with the ten million dollars the Moretti family deposited into my Swiss account three hours ago."
"You sold him out?" I gasped, staring at the man who had shared breakfast with the estate staff every morning for the past year. "Alexander trusted you! He treated you like family!"
"Alexander got soft!" Viktor spat, his voice laced with venom. "He started making deals with prosecutors! He started talking about going legal, selling off our protection routes, turning this organization into some legitimate investment firm! I didn't spend twenty years taking bullets for a boss who wants to play businessman!"
Sophie sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes. "Mommy? Why is it dark?"
"Stay still, sweetie!" I pleaded without breaking eye contact with Viktor. "Keep your eyes closed!"
"Get out of the way, Emily," Viktor ordered, resting his finger on the trigger. "I need the keycard around Alexander’s neck to open the safe in his medical room. I know Vance brought him down there. You're going to take me to him."
"I don't know the code to the basement medical wing," I lied, my voice shaking violently.
"You're the housekeeper," Viktor growled, grabbing me roughly by the collar of my shirt and shoving me toward the door. "You have the master keycard for the service elevator. Move!"
"Mommy!" Sophie cried out, jumping off the couch and grabbing the hem of my jeans.
"Leave the kid here," Viktor commanded, pointing his gun at Sophie.
"No!" I yelled, pulling Sophie into my arms and holding her tight. "If I go, she goes with me! You touch her and I'll scream so loud every guard in this house will hear me before you can pull that trigger!"
Viktor glared at me for two agonizing seconds, then cursed under his breath. "Fine. Bring her. But if she makes a sound, I'll shoot you both."
He shoved us out into the pitch-black hallway.
The estate was completely silent, swallowed by darkness and the deafening roar of the rain pounding against the iron shutters outside. Viktor kept his flashlight aimed at my back, the cold steel of his gun pressed against my spine as we moved slowly down the main corridor toward the private service elevator.
My mind was racing. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I was sure Viktor could hear it. I had to do something. I couldn't lead him to Alexander's medical room. If Viktor got inside, he would kill Alexander, kill Dr. Vance, and then execute me and my daughter to eliminate any witnesses.
As we reached the heavy steel doors of the service elevator, Sophie squirmed in my arms.
Her tiny hand reached down into her little coat pocket, her fingers brushing against the hard plastic edge of her toy medical kit.
She leaned up toward my ear and whispered so softly I could barely hear her over the sound of the thunder outside.
"Mommy... the pink light."
I froze.
Sophie’s toy medical kit had a cheap, battery-powered plastic flashlight shaped like an otoscope—the tool doctors use to look inside ears. It had a blindingly bright LED light that flashed red and white when you pressed the yellow button on its side.
I looked down at my daughter's clever, brave little eyes in the dim red glow of the hallway.
"Do it, baby," I whispered back.
May you like
Before Viktor realized what was happening, Sophie whipped her tiny toy otoscope out of her pocket, aimed it directly into Viktor’s eyes, and slammed her thumb down on the button!
A blinding, strobing flash of violent red and white light exploded in the dark corridor!
