Chapter 4 - BLOOD ON THE WHITE DRESS
The room erupted into sudden, violent motion.
Mark lunged at his father, grabbing Julian’s wrist before he could aim the gun at Lily. A loud POP echoed as the silenced weapon fired, the bullet shattering the large vanity mirror into a thousand glittering shards.
“Run, Clara! Take Lily and run!” Mark screamed, wrestling his father for the gun.
Clara grabbed Lily by the hand, dodging one of the guards who tried to intercept them. Driven by adrenaline, Clara picked up a heavy glass vase from the table and smashed it directly over the guard’s head. He crumpled to the floor, bleeding profusely.
Richard tried to grab Clara’s gown, but she kicked him fiercely in the shin, forcing him to fall back. She snatched the velvet diary from the floor, pulled Lily into her arms, and bolted out the side emergency exit into the torrential rain pouring outside.
“Mark!” Clara screamed, looking back.
Through the closing door, she saw Mark hit his father across the face, grabbing the security guard’s fallen gun. “GO! I’ll find you!” he roared before the heavy door slammed shut and locked automatically behind them.
Clara ran through the muddy gardens of the estate, her heavy white dress soaking up water and mud, turning black at the hem. Lily held onto Clara’s neck tightly.
“Where are we going?” Lily cried over the sound of thunder.
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“To the old manor,” Clara said, her eyes burning with determination. “Where she kept you. Where the rest of the evidence is hidden.”
But as they reached the edge of the estate’s driveway, a dark SUV pulled up, blinding them with its high beams. The door slid open.
