Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13 — THE SEWERS OF THE ELITE
The subterranean tunnels beneath the Whitmore mansion were a relic of the early 20th century, built by a generation that believed in having an escape route for every crisis. The air was damp, smelling of old brick and cold water.
Alexander led the way, his flashlight beam bouncing off the curved stone walls. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, blood dripping from his fingers. Behind him was Claire, carrying Lily, followed by Eleanor, Anna, and a thoroughly terrified Richard Lane, who kept looking back into the dark.
They had left Victoria behind—not by choice, but because she had panicked and run back toward the front gates into the arms of the local police who were just arriving at the perimeter. Arthur had been left bleeding on the study floor, a prisoner of his own collapsing empire.
"Hold on," Alexander muttered, stopping at a junction where the tunnel split into three separate directions. "Anna, which one leads to the old caretaker’s lodge outside the iron gates?"
Anna pointed to the left, but before they could move, Lily pulled on Claire’s sleeve.
"Mommy, my shoe..."
Claire looked down. In the rush to escape, the white box had remained with Eleanor, but Lily had been holding one of the small red baby shoes in her pocket. It had fallen out. It lay on the damp mud of the tunnel floor, a stark, bloody crimson circle against the gray earth.
As Claire bent down to retrieve it, the sound of rhythmic splashing echoed from the tunnel behind them.
"They found the hatch," Richard whimpered, his gun shaking in his hand. "They're inside the tunnels."
Eleanor stepped forward, her eyes locking onto Richard with the absolute authority of a woman who had ruled high society for forty years.
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"Richard, you want to save your family? You stay here and hold that line. If they get past this junction, they kill my granddaughter. If you die protecting her, I will ensure Victoria gets the best defense attorneys money can buy. If you run... I will let the feds hang her alongside Arthur."
Richard looked at the dark tunnel, then at the small red shoe on the ground. For the first time in his life, the greedy lawyer found a shred of backbone. He clicked the safety off his pistol. "Go," he whispered. "Just... tell Victoria I tried."
