Chapter 14 - The Room Without Air
Rachel tore a silk scarf from the wardrobe and covered her mouth.
Daniel did the same with his sleeve.
The smoke was not fire.
It was chemical vapor from the same compound he had used in smaller doses.
“You’ll die too,” Rachel said.
Daniel held up a compact oxygen mask hidden beneath his coat.
“I planned ahead.”
He placed it over his face.
Rachel’s vision began to blur.
Through the surveillance monitor, she saw federal agents outside the sealed bedroom. Bell was shouting instructions, but the security shutters would take minutes to override.
Rachel stumbled toward the bathroom.
Daniel followed.
“There’s nowhere to go.”
She locked the door between them.
The bathroom had no windows, but it contained an old laundry chute leading to the service level.
Rachel opened it.
The shaft was narrow.
She lowered herself inside as Daniel struck the bathroom door.
The lock broke.
Rachel released her grip.
She fell two stories, landing in a pile of linens.
Pain exploded through her shoulder.
Above, Daniel cursed.
Rachel crawled into the service corridor.
The chemical vapor was spreading through the ventilation system.
She reached the control room and searched the panels.
Daniel had disabled the automatic purge.
There was a manual exhaust lever inside the basement boiler room.
Rachel entered the stairwell.
Her breathing grew shallow.
Halfway down, Daniel caught her.
He grabbed her hair and pulled her backward.
“You should have stayed weak.”
Rachel swung the metal flashlight she had taken from the service room.
It struck his oxygen mask.
The plastic cracked.
Daniel inhaled the vapor.
His eyes widened.
Now both of them were exposed.
They fought their way down the stairs, each desperate to reach the manual exhaust.
Daniel reached the lever first.
He placed one hand on it.
“Give me the original files.”
“They’re already with the federal prosecutor.”
He realized she had never used the files as bait.
She had used herself.
Daniel began coughing.
He pulled the lever.
Industrial fans roared through the mansion.
Clean air entered the basement.
Federal agents broke through the shutters.
Bell found Rachel on the floor.
Daniel was gone.
A blood trail led toward an underground wine cellar.
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At the end of the trail stood an open tunnel Rachel had never known existed.
👉 Daniel escaped through a passage built beneath her childhood home, and the tunnel led directly toward the grave of the father he murdered.
