Chapter 11 - Echoes in the Void
Inside the dark, humid solarium, Leo was experiencing a terror unlike anything he had ever known. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and blooming orchids, suffocatingly still.
"Help! Please! Somebody help me!" Leo screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing uselessly off the thick glass panels.
He pounded his small fists against the door until the sides of his hands were bruised and aching. He kicked the reinforced glass with his polished shoes, but the barrier didn't even vibrate. The acoustic engineering of the room was flawless; it was designed to keep the noise of severe thunderstorms out, which meant it kept his frantic screams perfectly contained within.
Tears streamed hotly down his face, ruining his neat collar and staining his tuxedo shirt. He slid down the glass door, collapsing onto the tiled floor, pulling his knees to his chest.
He thought about his mother, sitting in the ballroom, probably wondering where he was but assuming he was just playing with the other children. He thought about Mr. Vance, waiting at the altar, completely unaware that he was about to marry a villain straight out of a comic book.
Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He frantically tried to dial his mother's number, but his heart sank as he stared at the screen.
May you like
No Service.
The thick, reinforced glass and the dense stone walls of the historical manor acted as a massive Faraday cage, blocking all cellular signals from penetrating the solarium. He was completely cut off from the outside world. He clutched the phone to his chest, the physical weight of the digital recording the only weapon he had left. He just had to find a way to deliver it.
