Chapter 5
With a hard twist of her wrist, the first screw snapped, dropping into the dust below with a sharp metallic clink.
Emma worked frantically, her yellow cleaning gloves slipping against the sweaty metal tool as she tackled the remaining screws.
Ethan stood on the bottom crate, holding the flashlight steady and pointing the beam directly at her hands.
Within three minutes, the heavy metal grate came loose, hanging by a single bend in the rusted frame.
Emma reached into the dark shaft, feeling a cool draft of outdoor air blowing through the narrow concrete pipe.
“This leads outside, Ethan,” Emma said, looking down at the young boy with a reassuring smile.
“I’m going to lift you up first, and then you crawl through until you reach the garden grass.”
“What about you?” Ethan asked, his eyes wide with worry.
“I’ll be right behind you, I promise,” Emma swore, grabbing him beneath his arms and lifting him up toward the vent.
Ethan squeezed his small frame through the narrow opening, his sneakers disappearing into the dark concrete pipe.
Emma dragged herself up next, her shoulders scraping against the rough edges of the zinc-lined shaft as she squeezed in.
She crawled through the dusty darkness, following the sound of Ethan’s breathing just a few feet ahead of her.
Ten yards down the pipe, the vent terminated at a small decorative iron grille set into the mansion’s exterior foundation.
Ethan pushed against the rusted iron bars with his feet, popping the old grille open onto the damp estate lawn.
May you like
They tumbled out onto the wet grass behind a thick hedge of boxwood bushes, gasping for the cold night air.
In the distance, three fire engines were pulling into the main gates, their red lights sweeping across the estate.
