PART 2 THE CAGE AND THE BLEEDING GREEN
Mara thought she had buried me alive in a 55-degree wine cellar. But she didn't know one crucial secret: I designed this basement.
The second I heard the heavy cellar door lock upstairs, I dragged my shivering, pregnant body across the concrete. I ran my fingers along the dark wall until I felt the third brick from the corner. Push.
With a soft beep, the wall slid open, revealing my hidden survival cache. Inside: a thermal sleeping bag, chemical heat packs, and most importantly, an encrypted tablet hooked into the estate’s mainframe.
Wrapped in thermal heat, I turned on the screen. The cameras showed the upstairs study. Mara was pouring my father’s expensive scotch. Daniel, my treacherous husband, was pacing, looking panicked. "If she dies down there, that’s murder, Mara!"
Mara just laughed, burying her hands into the duffel bag holding three million dollars of my stolen cash. "She’s weak. The cold will just speed up her failing heart. Tomorrow, we fly to Geneva."
Down in the dark, I smiled and rubbed my pregnant belly. Wait for it. Three... Two... One.
BANG!
A muffled explosion echoed through my tablet. Right in the middle of the study, the stacks of cash Mara was holding violently detonated. Bank-grade security dye-packs ruptured, spraying a thick, inescapable cloud of permanent, neon-red ink everywhere.
"What the hell?!" Daniel screamed. Mara shrieked, frantically clawing at her face as the crimson dye stained her skin, my cashmere coat, and the now-worthless millions.
But that was just the appetizer. I tapped another button on the tablet.
CRASH! Heavy steel hurricane shutters slammed down over every window and door in the mansion. The electronic deadbolts locked. The house went into total lockdown.
My voice echoed through the study’s ceiling intercom, icy and calm: "Did you really think I’d let you take everything without a backup plan? The house is now a vault. Let's see how you handle being trapped."
Mara stared at the ceiling in pure terror. Daniel dropped to his knees, pounding on the reinforced doors.
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I was about to cut the mic and enjoy the show when a sudden, blinding pain ripped through my lower abdomen. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
My water just broke. The baby was coming. Now.
