Chapter 3 - THE BOOT OF SALVATION
The oxygen in the bedroom thinned rapidly, forcing Chloe to drop to her hands and knees on the hardwood floor.
She gasped for clean air near the baseboard, her eyes stinging and watering from the toxic smoke inhalation.
A sudden flash of light caught her tear-blurred vision from underneath the mahogany nightstand.
Tucked far back in the shadowy corner sat a weathered brown leather work boot left over from her late father's garage.
Driven by pure adrenaline and survival instinct, Chloe crawled frantically across the scorching floorboards.
Her trembling fingers reached deep inside the boot cavity, brushing against a cold metallic edge.
She pulled out a hidden black smartphone, its screen illuminating her soot-stained, terror-stricken face.
Outside the locked door, the faint clink of crystal wine glasses echoed through the suffocating corridor.
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Evelyn and Jessica continued their conversation, discussing weekend brunch plans as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Chloe’s heart hammered furiously against her ribs as she unlocked the device with trembling thumbs.
