Chapter 3 - Rising From The Depths
Alexander turned his back on the trembling bodyguards, kneeling down once more beside the heavy wooden trapdoor leading into the dark shaft.
"Clara? Can you hear me?" Alexander called down into the abyss, his usual commanding tone softening with raw, desperate emotion.
From the bottom of the damp ladder, a faint, breathless cough echoed upward through the narrow opening.
"Alexander... get me out of here... please," the missing mother rasped, her voice weak and trembling from days of starvation and terror.
Without hesitation, Alexander reached down into the dark shaft, grabbing the wooden rungs to descend into the chilling underground gloom.
He landed on the damp dirt floor, immediately wrapping his warm jacket around his bruised, trembling wife in her torn faded yellow blouse.
"You're safe now, Clara; I've got you," Alexander vowed fiercely, lifting her light, fragile frame into his arms.
He carried her up the wooden ladder step by step, emerging back into the opulent foyer where little Chloe waited anxiously.
Chloe rushed forward, gently touching her mother's bruised face with tiny, trembling fingers while tears spilled down her cheeks.
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Alexander laid Clara carefully onto the velvet sofa, his heart burning with an absolute, consuming desire for lethal vengeance.
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