Chapter 7 - The Fatal Sound
As Leo took his second step backward, the heel of his polished dress shoe caught the edge of a thick, ornate brass floor vent embedded in the hallway runner. His foot slipped, and his shoe scraped loudly against the metal grill. To make matters worse, as he flailed his arms to regain his balance, his elbow bumped against a tall, ceramic vase resting on a nearby pedestal.
The vase wobbled precariously. Leo lunged to catch it, his heart stopping in his chest. He managed to grab the rim just before it toppled, saving it from shattering onto the floor, but the base clattered heavily against the wooden pedestal with a sharp, resonant thud.
In the dead silence of the private wing, the noise sounded like a gunshot.
Inside the study, Claudia froze instantly. She dropped her phone into her dress pocket and snapped her head toward the door.
"Who's there?" she demanded, her voice sharp and fearful.
Leo didn't breathe. He pressed himself flat against the wall, his eyes squeezed shut, praying to every force in the universe that she would assume it was just the old house settling.
But Claudia was not a woman who left things to chance. She moved swiftly across the study, her heels completely silent on the thick carpet. She reached the door and violently yanked it open, stepping out into the hallway.
She looked left, seeing nothing. Then she looked right.
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Her cold, calculating eyes locked onto the small boy in the black tuxedo, cowering against the wall just ten feet away.
Leo stared back at her, paralyzed by a sheer, primal terror. He wasn't looking at a beautiful bride anymore; he was looking at a predator who had just realized her trap was compromised.
