Chapter 8 - A Warning in the Dark
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Night fell heavy and silent over the Vance estate. Outside, a dense fog rolled in from the nearby coast, blanketing the manicured gardens in a thick layer of white mist.
Inside the nursery on the second floor, Elena finished feeding baby Leo his night bottle. The little boy fell asleep peacefully in her arms, his small chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Elena carefully laid him down in his wooden crib, pulled up the warm blanket, and kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well, sweet angel," she murmured softly.
Leaving the nursery door slightly ajar, Elena walked down the quiet hallway toward her private staff bedroom at the end of the east wing. She turned on the desk lamp, tired after a long, exhausting day of stress and uncertainty.
As she stepped into her bathroom to wash her face, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
Cold fear shot through her veins like ice.
Written in dark red lipstick across the bathroom mirror was a chilling, jagged message:
LEAVE THE ESTATE BEFORE DAWN, OR THE BABY WILL PAY THE PRICE.
Elena gasped, taking a step back as her heart hammered violently against her ribs. Beside the sink lay a small black envelope. Trembling, she opened it and pulled out a photograph.
It was a picture taken less than an hour ago—showing Elena standing inside the nursery, holding Leo in her arms, taken from a high-angle angle right outside the nursery window.
Someone had been standing on the second-floor balcony watching her.
"Mr. Vance!" Elena screamed, dashing out of her room and running down the dimly lit corridor toward the master suite. "Mr. Vance, help!"
Marcus threw his bedroom door open instantly, wearing a dark silk robe, his hand already holding a silver pistol he retrieved from his bedside drawer.
"Elena! What happened?!" he demanded, grabbing her by her shoulders as she almost collapsed into his arms.
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"In my room..." Elena panted, her eyes wide with terror. "Someone was inside... they left a threat on my mirror!"
Marcus’s eyes darkened with pure rage. He immediately tapped his earpiece, calling security. "David! Code Red! Lock down all exits! We have an intruder inside the east wing!"
