Chapter 8 - A MOTHER’S COURAGE

Everything happened in seconds.

Sarah moved first. She seized a heavy lamp from the table and hurled it. It shattered against the wall beside Julian’s head. He flinched. His shot went wild.

I lunged. We crashed together against the table. The gun skidded across the floor. We fought for it, grappling, rolling. Julian was strong and desperate. He smashed his fist into my face. Stars burst behind my eyes.

Then Sarah was there. She drove her heel into Julian’s hand. He screamed and released the weapon. I scrambled backward, grabbed the gun, and aimed it dead at his chest.

“Stay back!” I shouted.

Julian scrambled to his feet, chest heaving, eyes wild. He backed toward the trapdoor.

“You still lose!” he screamed. “If you shoot me… you never find out what I gave her!”

I froze. “What are you talking about?”

“Before you arrived… I gave her something to keep her quiet,” Julian panted, a terrible smile spreading across his face. “A sedative. Stronger than the one Nora used. If she does not receive the antidote by midnight… she slips into a coma. And then she dies.”

Sarah gasped. “You monster.”

“Call off your pursuit,” Julian said, backing toward the door. “Let me walk away. And I leave the antidote here. Try to follow… and I take it with me. Choose, Ethan. Your fortune… or your daughter’s life.”

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small vial of blue liquid. He held it up.

“Midnight,” he repeated. “That is how long you have.”

He slipped out the door before I could decide. By the time I reached the porch, his car was speeding away down the dirt road.

I returned to the trapdoor. Sarah was already climbing down. I followed.

Lily sat huddled in the corner, eyes glassy, breathing slow and heavy. She tried to stand but stumbled.

“Mommy… Daddy…” she whispered, swaying.

Sarah caught her before she fell. She pressed her cheek against Lily’s forehead, tears spilling over.

“She feels warm,” Sarah said, terrified. “Ethan… he really gave her something.”

I looked at my watch.

7:15 PM.

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Four hours and forty-five minutes.

If Julian did not return with the antidote… Lily would die.