Chapter 3: The Woman in the Fire
The scream came again.
This time it was closer.
Lily buried her face against Emily's side.
Vanessa turned toward the steel door.
“Stay here.””
Emily grabbed her arm.
“Absolutely not.””
“You don't understand.””
“I understand there's a fire upstairs.””
“That's not a normal fire.””
Emily looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa pulled open a small cabinet beside the door and removed a flashlight, a key ring and a handgun.
Emily stared at the weapon.
“You have a gun?””
Vanessa checked the chamber.
“I live in a house where people are willing to kill children.””
“That doesn't answer the question.””
“It answers enough.””
Another explosion rattled the walls.
The overhead lights flickered.
Lily screamed.
Emily pulled her close.
“Where are we going?””
Vanessa pointed toward the opposite end of the corridor.
“There is another exit.””
“Does it lead outside?””
“Yes.””
“Then let's go.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not yet.””
Emily's temper snapped.
“Not yet? Your mansion is on fire!””
“The fire is a distraction.””
“For what?””
Vanessa looked directly at her.
“To make everyone leave.””
Emily frowned.
“Everyone except us.””
Vanessa nodded.
“And whoever is looking for Lily.””
Emily felt a cold knot forming in her stomach.
“You think Daniel started the fire?””
“I know he did.””
“How?””
“Because he told me he would.””
Emily stared.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
The sirens above them became louder.
Vanessa moved down the corridor.
Emily followed.
Lily held tightly to her hand.
They reached a heavy door marked EMERGENCY EXIT.
Vanessa inserted one of the keys.
The lock didn't move.
She tried again.
Nothing.
“What?””
Vanessa stepped back.
“Someone changed the lock.””
Emily's heart sank.
“You said this was your emergency exit.””
“It was.””
A loud metallic clang echoed from the other end of the corridor.
Someone had entered the underground level.
Vanessa raised the gun.
“Back.””
Emily pulled Lily behind her.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Heavy.
Not rushed.
Emily's heart hammered.
The footsteps stopped.
Then came a voice.
“Vanessa.””
Daniel.
Emily held her breath.
Vanessa raised the gun toward the darkness.
“You're not getting her.””
Daniel laughed softly.
“I don't want the girl.””
Vanessa didn't lower the weapon.
“You burned my house.””
“I needed everyone outside.””
“Why?””
“You know why.””
Silence.
Then Daniel's voice became colder.
“Where is Mara?””
Emily looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa's face changed at the name.
“Mara?””
Daniel continued.
“I know you brought her back.””
Emily whispered, “Who is Mara?””
Vanessa raised one finger, warning her to stay quiet.
Daniel laughed.
“Still protecting secrets, Vanessa?””
“You're not touching her.””
“That's where you're wrong.””
A figure appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Emily could barely see him through the darkness.
Daniel Cross walked slowly into the emergency lights.
His tuxedo was still immaculate.
Not a spot of ash.
Not a wrinkle.
His hair was perfectly in place.
He held no weapon.
That somehow made him more frightening.
He smiled.
“Hello, Vanessa.””
Vanessa's gun remained steady.
“Stop.””
Daniel looked at Emily.
His smile widened.
“And you must be Emily.””
Emily felt her blood run cold.
“You're the man on the phone.””
“I am.””
“How do you know my name?””
Daniel's eyes flicked toward Vanessa.
“She tells people more than she realizes.””
Vanessa's jaw tightened.
“Don't lie to her.””
Daniel ignored her.
His attention moved to Lily.
The little girl immediately started shaking.
He smiled at her.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
Lily screamed.
Emily turned her body, shielding the child completely.
“Don't talk to her.””
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“Interesting.””
“What?””
“She doesn't react to people she fears.””
Emily stared at him.
“She knows you.””
“Yes.””
“What did you do to her?””
Daniel took one step forward.
Vanessa cocked the gun.
“Another step and I'll shoot.””
Daniel stopped.
“You always were dramatic.””
“You killed my sister.””
Emily looked at Vanessa.
Daniel's expression changed.
Only briefly.
Then he said:
“No.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“You murdered her.””
“I gave her a choice.””
“What choice?””
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“You should ask her.””
Emily's eyes narrowed.
“You said Mara was here.””
Daniel nodded.
“She is.””
“Where?””
Daniel smiled again.
“That's the right question.””
A scream came from above.
Emily flinched.
Daniel looked toward the sound.
“She's running out of time.””
Vanessa fired.
The gunshot exploded through the corridor.
Emily screamed.
Daniel ducked behind a concrete support.
Vanessa fired again.
The bullet struck the wall.
“Run!”” Vanessa shouted.
Emily didn't need to be told twice.
She grabbed Lily and ran toward the emergency exit.
Vanessa fired once more before following.
They reached the locked door.
Vanessa shoved the key into the lock.
Nothing.
“Come on.””
She tried another key.
Nothing.
Emily heard Daniel approaching.
“Vanessa!””
“Move.””
“We're trapped.””
Vanessa looked around.
Then her eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“Up.””
Emily looked confused.
“Where?””
“Ventilation shaft.””
“You're insane.””
“Do you want to live?””
Vanessa ripped open a maintenance panel.
Behind it was a narrow vertical shaft.
Emily stared.
“You expect me to climb through that?””
“Yes.””
“What about Lily?””
Vanessa crouched.
“I'll lift her.””
Emily held the girl.
“No. I'll go first.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You're smaller.””
“You're shorter?””
“I've done this before.””
Emily looked at her.
“That's not comforting.””
Another gunshot echoed.
The metal door shook.
Daniel had reached it.
Vanessa grabbed Lily.
The child screamed and fought.
“It's me,” Vanessa whispered.
“I'm not him.””
Something in her voice made Lily stop.
Vanessa lifted the girl into the shaft.
“Climb.””
Lily disappeared upward.
Emily followed.
She grabbed the metal bars and pulled herself inside.
Vanessa climbed last.
The instant she entered, Daniel kicked the emergency door open.
Emily looked down.
He stood beneath them.
He looked up.
For the first time, his expression was furious.
“You really think a hole in the wall will save you?””
Vanessa slammed the panel shut.
Darkness consumed them.
They crawled upward.
Emily's knees scraped against metal.
Lily was ahead of her.
Vanessa was behind.
The sounds from below became muffled.
Then Emily heard Daniel shouting.
“Vanessa!””
She kept climbing.
“Where are we going?””
“Roof.””
“How far?””
“Not far.””
Lily suddenly stopped.
Emily almost crashed into her.
“What?””
The child was staring ahead.
A faint light appeared above.
Then a hand grabbed Lily's ankle.
She screamed.
Emily reacted instantly.
She seized Lily around the waist.
Vanessa grabbed the girl's other arm.
The hand tightened.
Daniel's voice came from the darkness ahead.
“Found you.””
Emily screamed.
“Pull!””
Vanessa pulled Lily backward.
Daniel pulled harder.
The child cried out.
Emily wrapped both arms around her.
“Let go of her!””
Daniel's face appeared through the opening.
His eyes were cold.
“Emily.””
“Let her go!””
“You don't understand what you're protecting.””
“She is a child!””
“She is evidence.””
Vanessa suddenly drew the gun.
Daniel released Lily and disappeared into the darkness.
Vanessa fired.
The muzzle flash illuminated the shaft.
Silence.
“Move,” Vanessa ordered.
They climbed faster.
Finally they reached the roof.
Rain struck Emily's face.
The mansion below was glowing with fire.
Smoke rolled across the night sky.
Guests were gathered on the lawn.
Fire trucks screamed through the gates.
Police cars were arriving.
Emily looked down.
“How did he start a fire without anyone noticing?””
Vanessa stepped onto the roof.
“He didn't.””
Emily turned.
“What?””
Vanessa stared at the flames.
“He had someone else do it.””
“Who?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Lily stepped onto the roof.
She was shaking.
Emily wrapped a blanket around her.
Then Lily looked across the roof.
Her expression changed.
“Mommy.””
Emily froze.
A woman stood near the opposite rooftop entrance.
She wore a pale dress covered in soot.
Her hair was burned at one side.
Her face was streaked with blood.
She looked terrified.
But alive.
“Mara,” Vanessa whispered.
The woman stared at them.
Then at Lily.
“Lily.””
The child ran.
“Mommy!””
Mara dropped to her knees and caught her daughter.
They clung to each other.
Emily covered her mouth.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Vanessa remained frozen.
Mara looked at her.
“You promised.””
Vanessa's expression broke.
“I tried.””
“You promised you'd keep her safe.””
“I did.””
“No.””
Mara stood while holding Lily.
“You locked her in that room.””
“I was protecting her.””
“You were protecting yourself.””
Emily looked between them.
“What happened?””
Mara stared at her.
“You shouldn't be here.””
Emily almost laughed.
“That's becoming a popular sentence tonight.””
Mara ignored the joke.
She looked toward the mansion.
“He knows.””
“Who?”” Emily asked.
“Daniel.””
“We know.””
Mara shook her head.
“You don't.””
She looked directly at Emily.
“He knows everything that happened in this house tonight.””
Vanessa whispered, “How?””
Mara's eyes filled with tears.
“Because he was never outside.””
Emily frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Mara pointed toward the burning mansion.
“He built this house.””
Emily looked at Vanessa.
“What?””
Mara continued.
“He designed the walls.””
Emily suddenly remembered the hidden room.
The passageways.
The cameras.
The underground corridors.
The emergency exits.
“He knows every room,” Mara whispered.
Vanessa's face became pale.
“No.””
“He knows every door.””
“No.””
“Every tunnel.””
“Mara…”
“And every place you thought you could hide.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
Emily saw something in her eyes.
Recognition.
Fear.
Then Mara said the words that made Emily's stomach drop.
“Daniel isn't trying to find Lily.””
Emily looked at her.
“He's trying to find you.””
Vanessa stood perfectly still.
Mara continued.
“He knows what you did.””
Vanessa whispered:
“I didn't have a choice.””
Mara shook her head.
“You always had a choice.””
A helicopter appeared overhead.
Its searchlight swept across the roof.
Emily covered her eyes.
Police shouted from below.
“Get down!””
Vanessa looked at the staircase.
“They're coming.””
Emily breathed out.
“Good.””
Vanessa grabbed her arm.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because those aren't police.””
Emily looked toward the roof entrance.
Several men in dark uniforms were coming up the stairs.
They carried rifles.
One raised a flashlight.
Another spoke into a radio.
“Target located.””
Emily's blood turned cold.
Mara pulled Lily behind her.
Vanessa raised her gun.
There were too many.
One of the men stepped forward.
“Vanessa Vale.””
She aimed at him.
“What do you want?””
The man smiled.
“We're here for the girl.””
Vanessa looked at Lily.
Then at Mara.
Then at Emily.
For one terrible second, Emily realized there was nowhere left to run.
Then the helicopter searchlight suddenly went dark.
The armed men looked up.
A distant explosion shook the roof.
And from the far side of the mansion came a voice over the emergency speakers.
Daniel.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Ladies…”
Everyone froze.
“…you should have stayed in the wall.””
The roof doors slammed shut behind the armed men.
Mara screamed.
Vanessa raised her gun.
May you like
Emily grabbed Lily.
And somewhere below them, every door in the mansion locked at once.
