Chapter 5 - The Raid at Midnight
The flashing red and blue lights sliced through the dense Maine fog, painting the cabin walls in a horrific strobe effect. Megaphones boomed from the driveway.
"Marcus Harrington! Step out with your hands above your head! The building is surrounded!"
Inside, the lights were completely off. Marcus stood by the door, holding a heavy iron fireplace poker. Elena was hidden in the floor cellar, holding Mia, who was quietly whimpering into her one-eyed rabbit.
"Marcus, please come down here!" Elena whispered loudly from the floorboards.
"If I go down there, they'll find all of us," Marcus replied, his voice calm and steady. "I have to buy time for the Senator's federal team to arrive. Stay quiet, no matter what you hear."
Suddenly, the front door was smashed open with a battering ram. Three tactical officers rushed into the living room, their rifles raised. "Suspect sighted! Drop the weapon!"
Marcus threw the iron poker down, raising his hands. "I am unarmed. The woman and child are not here. I came alone."
The lead officer stepped forward, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. But before he could clamp them onto Marcus’s wrists, a man in a tailored suit stepped through the broken doorway. It was Harrison Callaway—Vivian’s father.
"Well, well, Marcus," Harrison said, his voice dripping with aristocratic disdain. "You certainly made a mess of things. Where is the maid’s child?"
"I sent them across the border into Canada hours ago," Marcus lied smoothly, staring down the older man. "You're too late, Harrison."
Harrison sneered. "Search the house. Every inch. If you find the child... remember our agreement. No witnesses."
Down in the cellar, Elena pressed her hand over Mia’s mouth, tears flowing silently down her cheeks. She could hear the heavy combat boots thudding right above their heads. Suddenly, Mia’s foot caught on an old paint can, sending it rolling across the cellar floor with a loud clink.
The boots above stopped moving.
"Under the floorboards," Harrison ordered.
An officer lunged forward, ripping open the hidden cellar door. He aimed his rifle directly down into the darkness, locking eyes with Elena.
"Found them," the officer yelled.
"Bring them up," Harrison commanded, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Elena and Mia were dragged out of the cellar into the dimly lit living room. Vivian stepped into the cabin then, wearing a pristine white trench coat, completely unfazed by the mud and rain. She walked up to Elena and slapped her hard across the face, sending her to the floor.
"You pathetic little cockroach," Vivian hissed. She turned to Marcus, holding out a legal document. "Sign it, Marcus. Sign the confession, or I will watch my father’s men execute this child right in front of you."
Marcus looked at Mia, whose tiny body was shaking with terror. She looked at Marcus with her big amber eyes, clutching her one-eyed rabbit.
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"Don't do it, Marcus," Elena cried, her lip bleeding. "Don't let them win!"
"I'm sorry, Elena," Marcus whispered, his heart breaking. He reached out and took the pen from Vivian’s hand. He pressed the paper against the kitchen counter, raising the pen to sign away his father's legacy.
