Chapter 7 - SHADOWS IN THE HALL
The night after the gala,
the mansion felt more dangerous than ever.
I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.
Ethan was restless,
his eyes constantly darting toward the door.
I stayed by his side,
the ledger tucked under my pillow.
Around 2:00 a.m.,
the power in the mansion suddenly went out.
The medical monitors switched to battery backup,
their low-pitched beeping sounding like a heartbeat in the dark.
I sat up,
my heart racing.
“Ethan?”
I whispered.
I felt his hand reach for mine,
finding it in the shadows.
A soft clicking sound came from the door.
Someone was trying the lock.
I slipped out of the chair and moved toward the heavy dresser.
I grabbed a heavy crystal vase,
my hands shaking.
The door creaked open,
and a dark figure entered the room.
They moved with a silent,
practiced ease,
heading straight for the bed.
In the dim light of the moon,
I saw the glint of a needle.
I didn't scream,
I just swung.
The vase shattered against the intruder’s head with a sickening thud.
The figure groaned and collapsed to the floor.
I scrambled for the flashlight on the nightstand and turned it on.
It was the head of security,
a man who had been with the Thornton family for years.
His eyes were rolled back,
blood trickling from a wound on his temple.
The needle lay on the rug,
filled with a clear,
lethal-looking liquid.
“Ethan!”
I gasped,
running back to the bed.
He was sitting up,
his face a mask of cold fury.
His voice,
when it finally came,
was a raspy,
broken growl.
“Call... the... police.”
The sound of his voice made me freeze.
“You can talk?”
I whispered.
“A... little,”
he wheezed.
“Jason... paid... him.”
I grabbed my phone and dialed 911,
my voice shaking as I gave the address.
Within minutes,
the mansion was swarming with police and sirens.
Vivian arrived in her dressing gown,
looking shocked.
Jason was nowhere to be found.
He had vanished the moment the security guard was caught.
“He’s gone,”
the lead officer told us.
“We found his car abandoned at the gate.”
I looked at Ethan,
who was being checked by the paramedics.
He looked exhausted,
but he was alive.
He had spoken his first words to save us.
Vivian looked at her grandson,
a strange mix of pride and fear in her eyes.
“He’s awake,”
she whispered.
“He’s really awake.”
I sat on the edge of the bed,
holding Ethan’s hand.
The war wasn't over,
but the tide had finally turned.
May you like
The traitor was on the run,
and the billionaire heir was no longer a silent prisoner.
