Chapter 5 - The Chase Through the Shadows
Charles stepped fully into the library, his face illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the large windows. The silver revolver in his hand didn't tremble. He looked remarkably calm, the panic from the church completely gone, replaced by a cold, calculating malice.
"Put the envelope down on the desk, Elena," Charles ordered, his voice smooth and dangerous. "And step away."
Elena clutched the manila envelope and the glass vial tightly to her chest. Her mind raced. If she gave him the documents, she was dead. He would shoot her, plant the vial on her body, and tell the police he caught the crazy maid breaking into his house to steal from him. The perfect frame-up.
"You won't get away with this, Charles," Elena said, her voice shaking but defiant. "Victoria is awake. The doctors know she was poisoned."
"And who poisoned her?" Charles smiled thinly. "The disgruntled maid who served her tea every night. The same maid who showed up to a funeral with an axe, proving she is violently unhinged. The police are already looking for you, Elena. When they find you dead in my home, it will just be a tragic case of self-defense."
He raised the gun, aiming it squarely at her chest. "Now, put the envelope down. I won't ask again."
Elena looked around desperately. The library was large, filled with heavy oak tables and towering bookshelves. Between her and the door stood Charles. Behind her was the large, floor-to-ceiling stained glass window.
"I know she's my mother," Elena whispered, stalling for time. "Why did you do it? Why try to kill her?"
Charles laughed, a dry, humorless sound. "Because she was going to divorce me and leave me with nothing! Thirty years I spent putting up with her arrogance, managing her companies, building her empire, and she was going to leave it all to a bastard child she gave up to an orphanage? I don't think so."
As he spoke, Elena slowly slid her foot backward, brushing against the edge of a heavy bronze globe on a wooden stand.
"It was perfect," Charles continued, his eyes gleaming with dark pride. "Dr. Thorne provided the Tetrodotoxin. It slows the metabolism down so much that even machines can't detect a heartbeat. She was supposed to wake up six feet underground, buried in that expensive mahogany box. It would have been poetic. But then you had to show up with that damn axe."
"You're a monster," Elena breathed.
"I'm a pragmatist," Charles corrected. "Now, die."
He pulled the trigger.
In that split second, Elena kicked the bronze globe as hard as she could. The heavy sphere toppled forward, crashing into a stack of chairs just as the gun went off. The gunshot was deafening. The bullet shattered the wood paneling inches from Elena's head.
She didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of the loud distraction, Elena lunged to the right, diving behind a massive mahogany reading table.
Charles cursed loudly. "You little bitch!" He fired again, the bullet tearing through the leather upholstery of a chair near her head.
Elena crawled frantically on her hands and knees, clutching the envelope and the vial, moving deeper into the maze of bookshelves. The library was dark, the only light coming from the moon. She could hear Charles's slow, heavy footsteps as he stalked her.
"You can't hide in here forever, Elena," his voice echoed menacingly. "There's only one door."
Elena scanned the room. He was right. She was trapped. Unless...
She looked up at the massive stained-glass window at the far end of the room. It led out to the second-floor balcony. If she could reach it, she could climb down the trellis.
She took a deep breath, grabbed a heavy hardcover dictionary from the bottom shelf, and chucked it as hard as she could toward the opposite side of the room. It hit the floor with a loud thud.
Charles immediately spun and fired two shots into the darkness where the book landed.
Using the noise as cover, Elena bolted from her hiding spot. She sprinted toward the window, grabbed a heavy brass candelabra from a side table, and swung it with all her might against the stained glass.
The glass shattered into a thousand glittering pieces. The loud crash alerted Charles. He turned, leveling his gun at her silhouette against the moonlight.
"No!" he roared.
Elena threw herself through the broken window just as another gunshot rang out. She felt a sharp, burning pain slice across her upper arm, but adrenaline pushed the agony away. She tumbled onto the stone balcony, scrambling to her feet.
She didn't look back. She grabbed the thick vines of the ivy trellis and began to climb down, half-falling in her desperation. She hit the grass hard, rolling to absorb the impact. Above her, Charles stepped out onto the balcony, aiming his gun down at the lawn.
Elena scrambled into the thick bushes, plunging into the darkness of the woods.
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"You're dead! You hear me? You're a dead woman!" Charles screamed into the night.
Elena clutched her bleeding arm, the manila envelope pressed safely against her chest. She had the proof. Now, she just had to survive long enough to use it.
