Chapter 11 - THE TICKING MANSION
The phone clicked dead.
Panic seized my chest. The mansion. My mother was currently resting in one of the guest rooms, moved there by Luca’s men for her safety just hours ago.
“My mother is in that house!” I screamed, bolting toward the hospital room door.
Luca caught my arm, his grip firm but grounding. “We will get her out, Emily. Vincenzo has men there. I’m calling them now.”
He dialed rapidly. “Vincenzo, get everyone out of the estate. Now. Marco wired it to blow.”
“Boss,” Vincenzo’s voice cracked over the line. “The doors... they’re magnetically sealed. The security system is locked down. We can’t get out.”
Antonio. The locksmith. He hadn't just installed locks on the bedrooms; he had rigged the entire security grid for Vanessa.
“Break the windows!” Luca shouted.
“Steel shutters dropped a minute ago,” Vincenzo panicked. “We’re trapped inside, boss. Emily’s mother is with us.”
I felt the room spin. I gripped the doorframe to stay standing.
“Where did he say the key was?” Rosa asked urgently.
“My winter coat,” I breathed. “It’s hanging in the mudroom of the mansion. Antonio must have slipped it into my pocket when I bumped into him yesterday.”
“He needs that key,” Luca said, his mind racing. “He wouldn’t blow up the house with the key inside. It’s a bluff.”
“Marco doesn't bluff,” Elena said from the bed, her face pale. “If he can't have the money, he’ll burn it all down just to spite you.”
Luca looked at me. “We have to get inside and override the system.”
“How?” I asked. “If the doors are sealed?”
“The old coal chute,” Rosa said suddenly. “Before the renovations, the mansion ran on coal. The chute connects to the basement. It’s narrow, but a small person could fit through.”
Luca grabbed his jacket. “Emily, stay here with Elena and Bella. I’m going.”
“You won't fit,” I said, looking at his broad shoulders. “I’m the only one who can fit down that chute. And my mother is in there. I’m going with you.”
Luca hesitated, looking at Elena. She nodded tightly.
“Bring them home,” Elena whispered.
Twenty minutes later, Luca’s SUV skidded to a halt outside the wrought-iron gates of the Moretti estate. The massive stone mansion sat in eerie silence, heavy steel shutters completely covering every window and door.
We ran to the side of the house, pushing through the overgrown rose bushes.
There it was. A rusted iron grate covering the old coal chute.
Luca ripped the grate off with a grunt of exertion.
“The security panel is in the main hallway,” Luca instructed, handing me a heavy flashlight. “You have to enter the master code to lift the shutters. It’s Elena’s birthday. 0814.”
“0814,” I repeated, sliding feet-first into the dark, filthy chute.
“Emily,” Luca grabbed my hand before I dropped. “Be careful.”
I let go and slid down into the pitch-black basement. I hit the concrete floor hard, dust billowing around me.
I clicked on the flashlight. The basement was lined with C4 explosives, wired to a digital timer on the central pillar.
The timer read: 14:00 minutes.
I scrambled up the basement stairs and threw open the door to the main floor.
“Mom!” I screamed.
Vincenzo and my mother ran out of the dining room.
“Emily!” she cried, hugging me tight.
“There’s no time,” I yelled, running to the security panel on the wall.
I punched in the code. 0814.
The screen flashed red. ACCESS DENIED.
“He changed the code!” I panicked.
The timer in the basement was ticking down. Ten minutes left.
“Think,” I muttered to myself. “Vanessa and Marco planned this. What code would Marco use?”
Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from the top of the grand staircase.
“He didn't change it to a date, sweetheart.”
I froze.
Walking slowly down the stairs, holding a silenced pistol, was a man who looked exactly like an older, crueler version of Luca.
Marco.
“He was already inside,” Vincenzo realized, raising his weapon.
Before Vincenzo could fire, Marco shot him in the leg. Vincenzo collapsed with a groan.
May you like
My mother screamed.
“Now,” Marco smiled, pointing the gun at my chest. “Go to the mudroom, little maid, and fetch my key. Or you all die in eight minutes.”
