Chapter 2 – Through the Fire
The ceiling gave way with a deafening roar.
A burning beam crashed exactly where Elliot had been sitting only a heartbeat earlier.
Splinters exploded across the bedroom.
Flames rushed through the opening like hungry predators finally finding fresh air.
I pulled the little boy tighter against my chest.
His tiny fingers refused to let go of the green stuffed dinosaur.
"Stay with me," I whispered.
He nodded weakly, coughing into the soaked tablecloth wrapped around us.
The hallway outside had become an inferno.
The blue wallpaper curled into black ash.
Doors collapsed one after another.
Every direction looked the same.
Fire.
Smoke.
Darkness.
I dropped onto my hands and knees.
The air near the floor was barely breathable.
Every crawl forward scraped my palms against broken glass and burning plaster.
Behind me...
Another explosion.
The bedroom disappeared beneath falling timber.
If we had stayed one second longer...
Neither of us would have survived.
Halfway down the hallway, Elliot's body suddenly became heavier.
His coughing stopped.
That frightened me more than the coughing ever had.
"Elliot."
No answer.
"Elliot!"
His eyes were closed.
Smoke.
Too much smoke.
"No."
I shook him gently while forcing myself forward.
"You don't get to quit."
"You promised your dad you'd come home."
I wasn't speaking to a billionaire's son anymore.
I was speaking to every frightened child who ever believed an adult would save them.
The staircase was gone.
Only twisted iron and burning wood remained.
There was no way down.
For one terrifying moment...
I thought we were trapped.
Then I noticed moonlight.
A shattered window.
Below it stretched the sloped glass roof covering the mansion's grand conservatory.
Not safe.
Not even close.
But possible.
I kicked away the remaining glass with my shoe.
Wrapped Elliot tighter against me.
Closed my eyes.
And jumped.
The impact knocked every ounce of air from my lungs.
The glass roof cracked beneath us.
It groaned...
Shivered...
But somehow held.
We slid downward as burning debris rained around us.
At the edge, I grabbed the iron frame with both hands just before we fell.
Below...
Firefighters had finally arrived.
One looked up.
"There!"
"They're alive!"
Ladders rushed forward.
Strong hands reached toward us.
The moment my feet touched the ground...
May you like
I collapsed.
Still refusing to let go of Elliot.
