Chapter 6 - THE CLOSING OF THE GATES
The elderly woman on the stairs finally found her voice, though it hitched and fractured in her throat.
"You... you can't just take her! This is our family! This is—"
The silver-haired father didn't even turn around to look at her.
He raised his left hand, snapping his fingers once.
Crack.
The sound echoed through the high-domed foyer.
Two of the bodyguards moved with military precision, stepping between the stairs and the front door, effectively cutting off any movement from the mother and son.
The father wrapped a protective arm around his daughter’s waist, guiding her steps toward the wide-open threshold.
The bright afternoon sunlight caught the grey satin of her dress, making it sparkle like wet pavement after a summer storm.
They crossed the shattered threshold, stepping out onto the expansive stone porch.
The cool breeze hit her face, washing away the smell of scotch, fear, and old velvet.
She paused at the top of the porch steps and looked back one last time.
Her husband was still on his knees on the hardwood floor, rubbing his bruised throat, staring stupidly at the silver ring left behind on the stair.
His mother was gripping the banister, her mouth moving in silent, furious tirades against a world that had suddenly stopped obeying her rules.
The father gently guided his daughter down the steps toward the idling, bulletproof black sedan waiting in the circular drive.
One of the bodyguards opened the heavy rear door.
The interior was dark, cool, and smelled of leather and rain.
She slid into the back seat, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her hands protectively over her stomach.
Her father climbed in beside her, pulling the heavy door shut behind them.
Thump.
The seal was absolute.
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The world outside vanished behind tinted, impenetrable glass.
The sedan pulled away smoothly down the long, tree-lined driveway, leaving the grand mansion and its broken ghosts far behind in the dust.
