Chapter 12
Chapter 12: The Hidden Artery
Daniel handed Hope to Emily. "Keep her nose covered. Breathe as little as possible."
He rushed to the center of the room, grabbing the heavy, solid oak changing table. With a surge of adrenaline, he shoved it aside, tearing the plush rug away.
Beneath it lay a seamless hardwood floor.
"Daniel, what are you doing?" Emily gasped, her knees buckling as the oxygen level dropped.
"When I was ten, Dad showed me the blueprints," Daniel said frantically, feeling the edges of the floorboards. "He said the nursery was the most important room in the house. He put a secondary ventilation shaft here. A maintenance drop."
His fingers found a small, almost invisible groove.
He looked at Lane. "Detective! Your gun! Hand it to me!"
Lane tossed him the heavy pistol. Daniel used the steel grip to smash against the wooden groove. Wood splintered. A hidden latch gave way.
Daniel pried open a two-foot-wide steel hatch in the floor. A rush of cold, breathable air surged upward into the nursery.
"A service shaft," Daniel coughed, inhaling the clean air. "It leads down to the basement levels."
Victoria’s eyes widened in horror. "No! You cannot leave!"
She lunged forward, despite her gunshot wound, grabbing Emily’s ankle.
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Lane intercepted her, pinning Victoria to the floor. "Go!" Lane shouted to Daniel. "Get your family out! I'll secure her and follow!"
Daniel helped Emily lower herself into the dark shaft, handing Hope down to her carefully. Then, taking one last look at the woman who had destroyed his family, Daniel climbed into the darkness and pulled the hatch shut above them.
