Chapter 13 - Into the Depths
The cold night air whipped across Valeria’s face as she slid down the terracotta roof tiles, desperately clutching Mateo. She managed to drop safely onto the soft grass of the private gardens, instantly rolling into the deep shadows of the manicured hedges.
The mansion behind them was a terrifying war zone. Muzzle flashes illuminated the grand windows, and the shouts of dying men pierced the beautiful night. Héctor’s mercenaries were systematically executing everyone loyal to Alejandro.
“We have to stay quiet, Mateo,” Valeria whispered directly into his ear, her heart hammering like a trapped bird. “Not a single sound, okay?”
Mateo nodded frantically, his arms locked around her neck in a vice grip.
Valeria remembered a crucial detail she had read in the late Madam's diary before she had been interrupted. The mother had written about an old Prohibition-era smuggling tunnel beneath the wine cellar—an absolute secret known only to the family, designed as a final escape route.
Staying low to the ground, Valeria sprinted across the dark lawn, dodging the sweeping beams of the mercenaries' tactical flashlights. She reached the heavy iron doors of the external cellar entrance. Miraculously, in the chaos, it was left completely unguarded.
She pulled the heavy iron ring, grunting with the immense effort, and slipped inside, dragging Mateo with her into the damp, cold darkness.
She felt her way down the stone steps, moving blindly past rows of expensive vintage wines, until her hands found the back wall of the cellar. The diary mentioned a specific loose brick near the floor.
Valeria frantically traced the rough mortar in the pitch black. She heard heavy combat boots descending the cellar stairs behind them. The mercenaries were searching the grounds.
Click.
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Her fingers found the hidden latch. She pushed hard, and a heavy section of the stone wall smoothly swung inward. Valeria pulled Mateo inside the narrow, dusty tunnel and pulled the secret door shut just as bright flashlight beams swept across the wine racks.
They were trapped underground, but for now, they were completely invisible.
