Chapter 8 - THE CHAPEL BELOWThe men surrounded them.
Daniel raised his hands.
“Don't hurt her.”
Eleanor nodded.
“That's the plan.”
Sarah felt sick.
Arthur whispered:
“Back away.”
Clara grabbed Sarah’s hand.
“Trust me.”
They moved toward the stairwell.
A security guard tried to stop them.
Clara struck him with a metal pole.
Arthur grabbed another.
Daniel pulled Sarah forward.
They ran.
Down.
Two floors.
Three.
The emergency stairwell opened into the old basement.
Sarah stumbled.
“Where are we going?”
Clara answered:
“The chapel.”
“There is no chapel under the hospital.”
“There is now.”
They entered a hidden corridor.
A stone staircase descended.
At the bottom was an old door.
Clara inserted a key.
The door opened.
Inside was a tiny chapel.
Dust covered the pews.
A broken cross hung over the altar.
Sarah looked around.
“This is beneath the mansion.”
Clara nodded.
“The old estate chapel.”
Arthur stared.
“How did it get connected to the hospital?”
“During construction, Eleanor built underground tunnels.”
Daniel looked stunned.
“For what?”
Clara answered:
“Escape.”
They moved behind the altar.
Clara pressed a stone.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside was a steel safe.
Arthur knelt.
“How do we open it?”
Clara handed Daniel the key.
“You're the one she thinks owns the future.”
Daniel inserted it.
The safe clicked open.
Inside were boxes.
Documents.
Photographs.
And a cassette tape.
Sarah picked up a photograph.
It showed Eleanor standing beside Daniel as a child.
Behind them was another woman.
Clara.
Young.
Alive.
Sarah looked at the date.
“Twenty years ago.”
Clara nodded.
“There is something else.”
She pulled out a legal document.
Arthur read it.
His eyes widened.
“This is the original trust.”
Daniel grabbed it.
The language was clear.
If Daniel produced a child by a legally recognized marriage, the entire Vance fortune would transfer into a protected trust controlled by the child upon adulthood.
Eleanor could not access it.
Could not sell it.
Could not redirect it.
Daniel stared at the signature.
“This is my father's handwriting.”
Clara nodded.
“He knew Eleanor would try to control everything.”
Sarah looked at another clause.
“What does this mean?”
Arthur read it.
“The child must be publicly acknowledged within thirty days of birth.”
Clara looked at Sarah.
“That means Eleanor has thirty days.”
Sarah swallowed.
“To do what?”
Clara answered:
“Steal the baby before Daniel can register it.”
Daniel suddenly remembered something.
“Wait.”
He pulled out his phone.
“My mother knew about this.”
Arthur nodded.
“Of course.”
Daniel scrolled.
“I have messages.”
From Eleanor.
Days before the fall.
Do not let Sarah register the child.
Another:
The birth certificate must carry a different surname.
Another:
Once the baby is transferred, Daniel will comply.
Sarah stared.
“She planned all of this.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I should have protected you.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You were scared.”
“I was.”
“But now?”
Daniel looked at the trust.
“Now I'm done being scared.”
A noise came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Many.
Clara's face hardened.
“They found us.”
Arthur closed the safe.
“How many exits?”
“Two.”
“Where?”
“North tunnel and east tunnel.”
Daniel took Sarah's hand.
“We go east.”
They ran.
Behind them, the chapel doors exploded inward.
Eleanor's voice echoed through the dark.
“Bring me the baby.”
They reached the east tunnel.
A steel gate blocked the way.
Locked.
Arthur tried the key.
Nothing.
Clara cursed.
“Eleanor changed the lock.”
Daniel looked around.
Then saw a wall panel.
“Wait.”
He opened it.
Inside was an old switch.
He pulled it.
The tunnel lights turned on.
At the far end stood a vehicle.
A black armored van.
Sarah stared.
“Whose is that?”
Clara smiled.
“My mother's.”
Daniel froze.
“Our mother is dead.”
Clara looked at him.
“I know.”
She opened the van.
Inside were emergency supplies, medical equipment, and a photograph.
A handwritten note lay on the driver's seat.
Clara picked it up.
Read it.
Her face went pale.
“What?”
She handed it to Daniel.
The note contained only one sentence.
If Eleanor ever finds the baby, trust no one in the hospital.
Sarah whispered:
“Why?”
Clara looked toward the tunnel.
“Because she doesn't have a hospital team.”
“What does she have?”
Clara swallowed.
“A private maternity ward.”
“Where?”
May you like
Clara looked at Sarah.
“Under Vance Tower.”
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