Chapter 16 - No More Hiding
The breach came from the rear entrance. Rebecca moved Anna and Mia into a reinforced room while Lorenzo and Luca took positions in the hallway. Peter stood frozen beside the stairs.
“Pick a side,” Lorenzo told him.
Peter swallowed. “I already did.”
He pulled a small key from his pocket and opened a hidden cabinet. Inside were security plans for the clinic, including an underground exit.
“Vale gave me these,” he said. “I kept them in case I ever needed to get Anna out.”
“Why didn't you use them?”
“Because I was a coward.”
The first attacker came through the rear hall. Rebecca's agents shouted for him to drop his weapon. He fired instead. The corridor erupted with noise. Lorenzo pushed Luca behind the wall as a bullet struck the doorframe.
Peter ran toward the stairwell and pulled the fire alarm. Sprinklers burst overhead. The sudden rush of water confused the attackers long enough for the agents to move.
Mia was in the reinforced room with Anna. She heard the radio crackle.
“East corridor clear.”
Then another voice: “We have a second team at the loading entrance.”
Mia looked at the floor plan taped to the wall. A narrow passage connected the room to the old laundry chute. She recognized the symbol from the estate's service corridors.
“Mom,” she whispered. “There's another way out.”
Anna followed her finger. “That's too small.”
“Not for me.”
She slipped through the service panel before anyone could stop her. The passage was tight, dark, and smelled of detergent. At the far end, she found a release lever and pulled it.
A metal door opened into the laundry room.
Lorenzo reached her seconds later.
“What did I tell you about running toward trouble?”
Mia looked up. “That I'm supposed to notice it first.”
He wanted to scold her. Instead, he hugged her so tightly she squeaked.
They got Anna out through the underground passage. Peter stayed behind to guide the agents toward the second team.
As the convoy pulled away, Rebecca received a call.
May you like
Vale had disappeared from federal custody.
And he had taken the evidence clerk with him.
