Chapter 4 - The Subterranean Labyrinth
The emergency lighting cast a sickly amber glow along the concrete walls of the underground tunnel. Every footstep echoed hollowly as Ethan and I moved swiftly through the corridor, our breathing ragged in the enclosed space.
“Where is the guard who took Noah?” I asked, scanning the dim hallways for any sign of them.
“The armory bunker at the end of this sector,” Ethan said, keeping his weapon drawn and scanning every shadow. “It has a reinforced vault door impervious to explosives. They should be secure inside.”
As we rounded a sharp corner, the amber lights flickered and died, plunging us into absolute darkness. A cold draft swept over the back of my neck.
“Stop,” Ethan whispered, his hand pressing firmly against my chest to halt my momentum.
In the pitch black, a metallic scrape sounded just ahead—the distinct sound of a safety catch clicking off on a firearm.
“Who’s there? Give the password,” Ethan called out, his voice sharp and steady.
“The roses bleed black,” a voice replied from the darkness.
Ethan lowered his weapon slightly. “Vance. You’re alive.”
A flashlight beam cut through the dark, illuminating one of Ethan’s senior security men. But Vance wasn't alone. He was dragging an unconscious guard behind him—the very guard who had taken Noah down to the subterranean garage.
And Noah was gone.
My blood ran cold. I broke past Ethan and rushed forward, dropping to my knees beside the fallen guard. “Where is he? Where is Noah?!”
Vance’s face was bruised, blood trickling from a deep laceration above his left eyebrow. “We were ambushed at the armory elevator. Margaret had internal override codes. She was waiting for us down here.”
May you like
Ethan stepped forward, his eyes narrowing into terrifying slits. “She took my son?”
“She didn't just take him,” Vance gasped, clutching his side where a dark stain of blood was spreading across his tactical vest. “She left a message on the security monitor. She said if you want your heir back alive, you come alone to the old glasshouse at the botanical gardens across town. Within the hour. Or the boy gets a double dose of the real poison.”
