Chapter 2: The Secret Inside the Flames
Daniel crashed through the front entrance as smoke swallowed the grand staircase.
"Anyone inside?" he shouted.
A trembling housekeeper pointed upward.
"The master's wife!"
"The nursery!"
Daniel raced upstairs despite the collapsing ceiling.
Behind him, professional firefighters finally arrived.
Outside, Richard performed perfectly.
He grabbed his own head.
"My wife!"
"My baby!"
"Please save them!"
Television reporters later would call him a devastated husband.
Only Evelyn noticed he never actually attempted to enter the house.
Inside the nursery, Daniel heard the pounding against broken glass.
"Help!"
Following Martha's voice, he kicked the weakened door.
Once.
Twice.
The third kick bent the hinges.
Then...
The iron bolt outside refused to move.
Daniel frowned.
Why would a burning room be locked from the outside?
Someone had trapped them.
He attached a rescue cable to the handle.
"Pull!"
Two firefighters yanked together.
The entire door ripped free.
Heat exploded into the hallway.
Daniel rushed inside.
He found Martha kneeling beside Amelia, whose face had turned ghostly pale.
"The baby's crowning," Martha cried.
Daniel looked around.
The oxygen tank.
The advancing flames.
The collapsing ceiling.
He had seconds.
Lifting Amelia carefully into his arms, he shouted,
"We move now!"
Martha grabbed the medical bag.
The three staggered toward the hallway.
Then a burning beam crashed between them.
Martha stumbled backward.
"No!"
Daniel tried reaching for her.
The flames separated them completely.
"Take her!" Martha screamed.
"Save the child!"
Daniel hesitated only one second.
He carried Amelia downstairs while firefighters battled the blaze.
When they reached the ambulance, Amelia grabbed Daniel's jacket.
"My husband..."
"He locked us in."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
"He..." she whispered weakly. "He wanted us dead."
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Before she could explain further...
She lost consciousness.
