Chapter 16 - The Race to the NurseryMy lungs burned as I took the basement stairs three at a time, bursting out into the ground-floor hallway. The house was dead silent.
"Maisie!" I gasped, racing down the upstairs hallway toward the nursery. "Maisie, open the door! It's Daddy!"
I grabbed the doorknob. It was locked from the inside.
"Maisie, bug, it's me! The password is Sunflower!" I rattled the knob frantically.
From inside the room, I heard a muffled sob. Then, the click of the lock turning.
The door swung open just an inch, and Maisie’s tear-streaked face peered out. She threw herself into my arms the second I pulled her into the hallway.
"Daddy, a lady was at my window," she cried, clinging to my jacket. "She told me to hide under the bed!"
"A lady? Elena?" I asked, my heart pounding.
Before Maisie could answer, heavy footsteps thundered up the wooden staircase. Marcus had found the light switch or navigated the dark. He was coming up, and he didn't look like he was planning to negotiate anymore.
"Run!" I grabbed Maisie’s hand, sprinting toward the master bedroom where the fire escape ladder led out to the back patio.
As we reached the bedroom threshold, a dark figure stepped out from the shadows of the master bath, blocking our path.
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It wasn't Marcus.
It was Elena.
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