Chapter 16 - The Midnight Escape
"Clara!" Ethan’s voice boomed through the estate's outdoor intercom system, magnified into an omnipotent roar that echoed against the thunder. "Put the case down, Clara! There is nowhere to run! The authorities will only find what I want them to find!"
A crack of gunfire shattered the air. A bullet tore through the bark of the pine tree inches from my ear, showering my face with sharp wooden splinters. He wasn't trying to capture me anymore. The masquerade was over; the pretense of a natural medical tragedy was disintegrating.
I dropped to the ground, crawling through the thorny underbrush along the fence line until I reached the old drainage culvert where rainwater flowed off the property into the county ditch. The iron grate was rusted. I rammed the corner of the aluminum briefcase into the rusted hinges with frantic, adrenaline-fueled fury.
Another bullet struck the mud nearby, spraying freezing sludge across my eyes.
*One hit. Two hits.*
With a shriek of corroded metal, the bottom bar gave way. I shoved the briefcase through the opening, squeezed my body into the dark, rushing torrent of muddy water, and dragged myself beneath the perimeter wall, the iron spikes tearing through my jacket and scraping deep lines into my back.
May you like
I tumbled out onto the opposite side, sliding down the muddy embankment of the county road just as Ethan’s sleek black SUV roared out through the main gates, headlights cutting through the blinding deluge.
***
