Chapter 17 - Fire on the West Wing
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Elena was shoved through a side service exit into the dark alley behind the hotel, where a black van was waiting with its engine running.
"Get her inside!" Julian Carter's voice barked from the darkness.
"No!" Elena fought back with all her strength, stomping her high heel directly onto the guard’s foot. The man grunted in pain, dropping his grip.
Elena broke free, sprinting back toward the hotel entrance just as Marcus and his security team burst through the service doors with flashlights.
"Elena!" Marcus roared, pulling her behind his body and pointing his pistol at the black van.
The van doors slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away into the night, its tires screeching loudly against the pavement.
Before Marcus could check on Elena, his phone rang with a panicked call from David at the estate.
"Marcus! You need to get back here now!" David yelled over the speaker, the sound of blaring fire alarms ringing in the background. "They set fire to the west wing! The nursery is burning!"
"Leo!" Elena screamed, her heart stopping in pure horror.
Without hesitation, Marcus and Elena leapt into his armored SUV, racing through the city streets at breakneck speed toward the estate.
When they arrived, orange flames and thick black smoke were billowing out from the second-floor nursery windows. Fire trucks were rushing down the driveway with sirens blaring.
"Leo is still inside!" Martha sobbed on the front lawn. "The fire started right outside his door! The guards couldn't get through the smoke!"
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Elena didn't wait for the firefighters. She grabbed a bucket of water, drenched her dress, wrapped a wet towel around her face, and charged straight into the burning mansion.
"Elena! No!" Marcus shouted, running right behind her into the wall of smoke.
