Chapter 10 - THE STRATEGY IN THE COLD
Upstairs in the freezing kitchen, the family gathered around Margaret as David placed the glowing tablet onto the island counter.
The digital document was ready for a finger signature, a legal transfer that would strip Margaret of everything her family built.
"Mom, you can't sign this... she'll never unlock the doors anyway! She's unhinged!" Sarah argued, her teeth chattering from the cold.
"If I don't sign it, we freeze or suffocate in thirty-eight minutes, Sarah," Margaret answered, staring at the screen.
David paced around the kitchen, his white shirt offering zero protection against the icy drafts seeping through the floorboards.
"There has to be another way out... what about the old coal chute behind the pantry?" David suddenly remembered.
Margaret turned her gaze toward the small wooden door near the framed US flag, a subtle spark of intelligence flashing in her eyes.
"The coal chute is narrow, but a small person could squeeze through to the exterior driveway," Margaret analyzed softly.
"Sarah's fourteen-year-old son, Leo, is thin enough to fit," Sarah suggested, pulling her terrified son forward from the crowd.
"Leo, you crawl out, go to the neighbor's house, and call the State Police immediately," David instructed the young boy.
"And what do we do about the ticking propane valve in the basement?" Sarah asked, her breath forming white clouds in the air.
Margaret picked up the white kitchen towel she had used earlier, her face settling into a mask of pure, tactical determination.
May you like
"I am going to buy us time by giving Chloe exactly what she thinks she wants," Margaret declared.
***
