Chapter 6 Into the Tunnel

"Get down!" Lucien shoved me toward the hidden staircase just as bullets tore through the living room.

Wood splintered behind us. Glass exploded across the floor. One of the bodyguards returned fire while the other slammed the bookshelf shut, hiding the entrance.

"Go!" he shouted. We raced down the narrow stone steps two at a time. Behind us, the muffled sound of gunfire echoed through the house. The staircase twisted deeper underground before opening into a dimly lit tunnel. Small emergency lights lined the walls, the air smelled damp, cold, old.

I struggled to keep up. "How long is this tunnel?" I gasped. "It leads outside the estate." "You've used it before?" "My grandfather built it during the kidnapping attempts in the seventies."

Another burst of gunfire thundered overhead. Dust drifted from the ceiling. "They're coming after us," I whispered. "They won't stop." "No," Lucien replied grimly. "Not until they have you."

We ran faster. Our footsteps echoed endlessly through the tunnel. Several minutes later, one of the bodyguards suddenly raised his fist. "Stop."

We froze. "What is it?" Lucien asked. The guard crouched near the ground. "There are footprints." Fresh ones, they weren't ours. Someone had already been inside the tunnel.

Lucien's expression hardened. "How recent?"The guard touched the damp dirt.."Less than an hour." A chill crawled up my spine.."They knew about this place."

Before anyone could speak again, a metallic click echoed ahead. Every head snapped forward. Another click, then another. The bodyguard swore under his breath. "Mines."

Lucien immediately pulled me backward. "What?"."They've trapped the tunnel." The emergency lights flickered, revealing several thin wires stretched across the floor, practically invisible. One wrong step would have killed us. "They planned for us to escape this way," I whispered.

Lucien nodded once. "They know this family's secrets almost as well as we do." The bodyguard carefully knelt down. "I can disarm them." "How long?" "Five minutes." "You have two."

His hands moved with incredible precision. My breathing became shallow. Every second felt like an hour.

Finally... he exhaled. "We're clear." We continued deeper into the tunnel. No one spoke, no one relaxed.

When we finally reached the steel exit door, the second bodyguard carefully pushed it open. Fresh night air rushed inside. Rain still poured from the sky. We stepped into a dense forest behind the estate.

A black SUV waited exactly where Lucien had said it would. The driver jumped out. "Mr. Blackwood!"

Lucien frowned. "You came alone?"."Yes, sir." "You weren't followed?"."I don't think so."

Those four words bothered Lucien. He glanced around the trees. Then he suddenly grabbed my shoulder. "Get in."

The engine roared to life. The SUV sped onto a narrow dirt road, disappearing into the forest. For the first time all night, I allowed myself to breathe. Until I noticed something.

The driver kept checking the rearview mirror again and again. Finally, Lucien noticed. "What is it?"."We're being followed." I twisted around.

Two headlights appeared in the distance, then four, then six, three vehicles closing fast. "They found us."

Lucien pulled a handgun from beneath his jacket. I stared at him. "You carry that everywhere?" "When someone tries to kill you every few years, you learn."

The driver accelerated. Branches scraped against the SUV, mud sprayed behind us. The vehicles chasing us refused to fall back. "They're gaining!" the driver shouted.

Lucien looked at me. "Can you drive?" "What?" "Can you?" "Yes." "Good."

He leaned forward. "Switch with him." I thought I'd heard wrong. "While the car is moving?". "We don't have time to stop." The driver nodded. "We've done this before."

Before I could protest, the driver unbuckled his seatbelt. The SUV swerved wildly. My heart nearly stopped. Lucien opened the center console. "Move!" Adrenaline took over. I climbed between the seats as the driver slid toward the passenger side. The vehicle bounced violently over rough ground.

For one terrifying second, I thought we'd flip. Then I grabbed the steering wheel. "I'm driving!" The driver finally settled beside me. "You've got it."

Lucien lowered his window. Gunfire erupted behind us, the rear windshield shattered, I screamed. "Eyes on the road!" Lucien barked. I forced myself to focus.

The dirt road curved sharply. Ahead, an old wooden bridge stretched across a river. "It's unstable!" the driver warned. Lucien looked back. "So are our chances if we stay here." "Floor it."

I pressed the accelerator. The SUV shot forward. The bridge groaned beneath our weight, wood cracked. Halfway across, one of the support beams snapped. The entire bridge lurched sideways. We barely made it across before the structure collapsed into the rushing river below.

The first pursuing SUV couldn't stop in time, it plunged into the water, the second slammed on its brakes, the third swerved into a tree, silence.

Heavy breathing filled our vehicle. "We lost them." Lucien shook his head. "No." He kept watching the river. "They're too organized."

As if to prove him right, a helicopter suddenly appeared overhead. Its spotlight swept across the forest. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

The beam locked onto us. "There!" Someone shouted through a loudspeaker. "Pull over immediately!" The helicopter wasn't police. There were no markings, no identification, just the silver wolf emblem painted underneath.

Lucien cursed. "They own helicopters now." The driver checked the fuel gauge. "We're almost empty." "How far to the next safe house?" "Twenty minutes." "We have ten."

The helicopter stayed directly above us. Then something dropped from its side. A small black object landed on the road behind us. "What was that?"

A deafening explosion answered my question. The blast sent the SUV sideways. I fought to control the steering wheel. The tires skidded, the vehicle spun once, twice... Then crashed through a wooden fence before finally stopping in a field. Smoke poured from the hood, the engine died.

For several seconds, none of us moved. "You okay?" Lucien asked. "I think so." The driver groaned. "My shoulder."

The helicopter circled lower. Its spotlight blinded us. Figures began rappelling from ropes. "They're coming down!" I shouted.

Lucien kicked open his door. "We run." We sprinted across the open field toward a line of trees. Bullets ripped through the grass behind us. I stumbled. Lucien caught me before I fell. "Keep moving!"

We reached the forest just as armed men landed behind us. Flashlights cut through the darkness, dogs began barking. "They've got tracking dogs," one bodyguard said. "They'll find us."

Lucien suddenly stopped beside an abandoned stone chapel hidden among the trees. Its roof had partially collapsed. Its stained-glass windows were broken. "This way." We slipped inside.

Moonlight filtered through the shattered ceiling. The place had clearly been abandoned for decades or so I thought.

Then I saw it; fresh candles recently burned. A steaming cup of coffee resting on an old wooden table. Someone had been here only moments earlier.

Lucien slowly raised his gun. "We're not alone." A voice echoed from the shadows. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd survive."

An elderly man stepped into the moonlight. His white hair framed a weathered face, but his posture was straight and commanding. He looked at Lucien first, then at me. Tears suddenly filled his eyes. "So..." His voice trembled. "You really are alive."

I frowned. "Do you know me?" The old man smiled sadly. "I held you in my arms the night your parents died." My heart stopped. "My parents?"

He nodded once. "The people who raised you were never your mother and father."

Before I could speak, before I could even breathe, a familiar voice called from outside the chapel. "Search every room!"

The old man's face turned grim. "They're here." Then he looked straight at me and whispered the words that shattered everything I believed. "If they discover who your father really was..."  

"...none of us will leave this place alive."