Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN EVELYN SAVED
The curtains caught fire above the stage.
Burning fabric fell into the aisle.
Evelyn used a broken piece of metal to cut Eleanor’s ropes.
“Why are you helping me?” Eleanor coughed.
“Because Lily is watching.”
Evelyn pulled her upright.
“And I refuse to teach her that cruelty makes cruelty acceptable.”
They moved toward the side exit.
A beam collapsed behind them.
The impact sent sparks through the auditorium.
Eleanor stumbled.
Evelyn caught her.
“You are stronger than your mother,” Eleanor whispered.
“Do not speak about her.”
“She saved me once too.”
Evelyn stopped.
“What?”
“Twenty years ago.”
“My husband planned to kill me when I tried to leave him.”
“Margaret helped me escape.”
“But you stayed.”
“I came back.”
“Why?”
“Julian was still a child.”
Eleanor looked toward the smoke-filled ceiling.
“I chose my son over my freedom.”
“And later, I chose the family name over my soul.”
They reached the lobby.
The main doors were blocked by flames.
Eleanor pointed toward the ticket booth.
“There is another passage.”
They crawled beneath the counter.
A narrow hatch opened into a maintenance tunnel.
Cold air rushed toward them.
Evelyn helped Eleanor climb down.
They moved through darkness.
Far ahead, a flashlight flickered.
Julian stood beside an iron gate.
He held the chip in one hand.
A gasoline can sat at his feet.
“You should have left her to burn,” he said.
Evelyn stood in front of Eleanor.
“Where does the tunnel lead?”
“To the foundation’s old river vault.”
Julian unlocked the gate.
“The chip contains account numbers.”
“Names.”
“Recordings.”
“Enough leverage to control half the city.”
Eleanor stepped forward.
“It will not make you powerful.”
“It will make you hunted.”
Julian smiled.
“Only if anyone knows I have it.”
He aimed the gun at Evelyn.
“You were supposed to disappear quietly.”
“Your daughter was supposed to look like a thief.”
“Everyone would have believed it.”
Evelyn’s hands curled into fists.
“You put that brooch in her bag.”
“I hired someone to do it.”
“And when the camera recorded him, Eleanor deleted the footage.”
Eleanor looked at Julian in shock.
“I deleted the footage because you told me it showed Evelyn stealing.”
Julian laughed.
“You really believed me?”
Eleanor’s face collapsed.
For the first time, she understood that her son had manipulated her too.
Julian opened the gate.
“You both deserve each other.”
He stepped into the vault tunnel.
Then the ground trembled.
Water burst through a crack in the wall.
The old river tunnel was collapsing.
Julian ran.
May you like
Evelyn and Eleanor followed.
Behind them, the theater groaned as the burning structure began to fall.
