Chapter 5 - The Flame Awakens
A faint, orange glow began to illuminate the gap beneath the study door. The smell of burning chemicals and gasoline seeped into the room, accompanied by the crackling roar of rapidly spreading flames. Marcus had ignited the accelerants.
"Mommy! It’s hot! I can’t breathe!" Sophie coughed, the thick, toxic smoke beginning to accumulate near the ceiling.
"Stay low, Sophie! Put your shirt over your nose!" I instructed, dropping to my knees beside the digital keypad on the trapdoor. The keypad was battery-operated, its little red light blinking aggressively. It required a four-digit code.
I tried Ryan’s birthday. Error. I tried Sophie’s birthday. Error. I tried our wedding anniversary. Error.
Two attempts left before the system permanently locked down. Outside, the drywall was popping and shattering under the immense heat of the fire. The oak door was beginning to blister, the wood turning black. We had less than two minutes before the structural integrity of the room collapsed entirely.
What code would a narcissist like Ryan use? What was the one number that drove him to destroy his own family?
The amount of the life insurance policy. Four million. 4-0-0-0.
I punched in the numbers. 4... 0... 0... 0.
With a loud, mechanical click, the heavy metal latch inside the trapdoor retracted. I threw the hatch open, revealing a narrow, concrete chute that descended into the dark beneath the foundations of the house. It wasn't a safe; it was an old maintenance tunnel connecting the main house to the detached garage fifty feet away—a relic of the property’s historical layout that Ryan had kept hidden from me.
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"Go, Sophie! Slide down! I'm right behind you!" I pushed her gently into the darkness, watching her slide down the smooth concrete incline before jumping in myself.
Just as my feet cleared the rim of the hatch, the study door burned through, and a wave of pure, white-hot flame rushed into the room above us, sealing the trapdoor shut with a heavy explosion of debris. We were underground, in a dark, narrow brick tunnel, while our home collapsed into an inferno above our heads.
