Chapter 5 - The Frantic Ascent
Rosa ignored the strict estate rules about only using the hidden service stairs. She ran frantically up the grand, sweeping main marble staircase of the mansion.
Her rubber-soled shoes slapped loudly and improperly against the polished stone steps. Her breath came in ragged, desperate, agonizing gasps. Her lungs burned, but she pushed her legs harder, taking the stairs two at a time.
The mansion felt impossibly large, the hallways stretching out like endless, terrifying labyrinths.
She had to reach the nursery on the third floor. She had to stop the mother before the poison ever touched the baby’s lips. Every second that ticked by felt like an eternity. She imagined Victoria already holding the bottle, already tipping the silicone nipple toward the child's mouth.
"Please, God, let me be in time,"
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Rosa prayed silently, her mind consumed entirely by the horrific, ticking clock of the poison.
She turned the final corner, her eyes locking onto the heavy, ornate double doors of the nursery at the end of the long, shadowed corridor.
