Chapter 8 - THE BASEMENT SURPRISE
"We need to break a window!" Sarah shouted, grabbing a heavy iron umbrella stand from near the front entrance.
"The storm shutters are made of reinforced steel, Sarah... an umbrella stand won't even scratch them," David warned, shining his flashlight.
"There's an emergency escape hatch in the wine cellar that leads out to the garden shed!" Margaret remembered, her voice commanding attention.
David led the way down the narrow wooden stairs to the cold basement, the flashlight beams dancing wildly off the exposed stone walls.
The air in the basement was already noticeably colder than upstairs, smelling faintly of old wine corks and damp earth.
When they reached the heavy wooden door of the wine cellar, David pushed it open, only to freeze dead in his tracks.
Sitting on a wooden crate in the center of the dark wine cellar was a small, ticking digital device attached to three red canisters.
"Is that... a timer?!" Sarah screamed, backing up three steps until her shoulders hit the basement wall.
David stepped closer, his flashlight beam illuminating a digital display counting down from forty-five minutes in bright red LED numbers.
"It's not an explosive," Margaret said, her calm voice cutting through the panic as she stepped down the last stairs.
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"That is a remote-controlled industrial gas release valve connected to the estate's backup propane tanks."
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