Chapter 4 - The Golden Cage
The rain started pouring just after midnight, a heavy, driving storm that masked the sound of David’s old sedan pulling onto the dirt service road behind the Vance estate.
The mansion loomed in the distance like a fortress of dark stone, its windows glowing with cold, yellow light. Lightning flashed, illuminating the massive glass dome of the greenhouse attached to the west wing.
"Stay close to me, Lily. Do not make a sound," David whispered. He zipped his dark jacket and handed Lily a flashlight.
They slipped through a gap in the old stone wall that the groundskeepers used. The rain soaked them instantly, but Lily didn't complain. She moved through the dark gardens with the silent, practiced stealth of a child who had survived on the streets by going unnoticed.
They reached the glass walls of the greenhouse. It was overgrown with exotic, twisting plants. David found a side maintenance door. It was locked with a heavy electronic keypad.
David cursed under his breath. He was a journalist, not a burglar. But before he could think of a plan, Lily tugged on his sleeve. She pointed to a small, dirty ventilation grate near the foundation of the greenhouse.
"That's how I got out," she whispered.
David stared at her, realizing the sheer horror of what this child had endured. She hadn't just been lost; she had escaped this prison.
With a hard kick, David dislodged the rusted grate. It was barely wide enough for him to squeeze through, but with scraping shoulders and torn clothes, he managed to drop down into the pitch-black space below the greenhouse. He caught Lily as she slid down after him.
They were in an old, forgotten subterranean utility tunnel. Pipes hissed and leaked hot steam.
"Which way, Lily?"
She didn't hesitate. She took his hand and led him down the dark corridor. After three minutes of tense, terrifying navigation, they reached a heavy steel door. There was no handle, only a retinal scanner and a thick, sliding lock.
Through a small reinforced glass window in the door, David shone his flashlight.
Inside was a sterile, white room that looked like a high-security hospital cell. Sitting on the edge of a cot, staring blankly at the wall, was a woman. She was painfully thin, her hair completely grey, though she was only in her thirties. She wore a faded hospital gown.
Lily let out a sharp, choked gasp. She pressed her little hands against the cold glass.
"Mommy," she sobbed.
Inside the cell, the woman’s head snapped up. Even through the exhaustion and the drugs, a spark of pure electricity shot through her eyes. She rushed to the door, falling to her knees, pressing her face to the glass.
"Lily... my baby..." Sarah Vance wept, her voice muffled through the steel.
David reached into his bag for a crowbar to pry the control panel off the wall.
Suddenly, the lights in the tunnel snapped on, blinding them.
"I wondered how long it would take the rat to find its way back to the maze," a voice echoed down the hall.
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David spun around. Standing at the end of the tunnel was Eleanor Vance. Behind her stood three massive security guards, their hands resting on the grips of their holstered weapons.
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