Chapter 4 - THE HIDDEN FLOOR VENTWhile Lucas was talking, stepping closer to block the hallway, my eyes shifted toward the baseboard near the bookshelf.
The floor vent.
"You're right," I murmured, lowering my gaze to look submissive. "I made a mistake. Let me just grab my work tablet from the study."
"Stay here," Lucas commanded, grabbing my wrist.
The pain shot up my arm from my cracked ribs, but I didn't flinch. I let out a soft, theatrical sigh. "Lucas, please. My side hurts. I just want to sit down."
He hesitated, tightening his grip before shoving me backward onto the living room rug. "Fine. Get it. But if you try anything, you know what happens."
I scrambled across the floor toward the hallway, ducked into the study, and dropped to my knees beside the bookshelf. My fingers clawed at the metal grate of the floor vent. It jammed, rusted from years of neglect.
Come on...
May you like
I wrenched it upward with a sharp twist of my wrist. My fingers brushed against cold metal.
The encrypted hard drive was still there.
