Chapter 2 - The Dark Escape
The deafening gunshot echoed through the pitch-black ballroom like a terrifying clap of thunder.
I felt Arthur’s strong arms wrap violently around my waist, tackling me forcefully to the hard marble floor.
The bullet shattered a massive glass pillar right where my head had been just a fraction of a second earlier.
Sharp shards of crystal rained down on us like a dangerous, glittering winter storm.
People were screaming in absolute terror, blindly trampling over each other to find the emergency exits.
Arthur pulled me up by my hand and dragged me toward the hidden service doors behind the main stage.
We burst through the swinging wooden doors, leaving the chaotic nightmare of the ballroom far behind us.
The catering staff had already fled in sheer panic, leaving the massive industrial kitchen completely empty.
We sprinted down a narrow concrete stairwell that led directly to the underground VIP parking garage.
My ruined, heavy white dress dragged along the dirty floor, completely slowing my desperate footsteps.
I used both hands to violently tear the bottom half of the thick fabric away so I could run faster.
Arthur unlocked his sleek black sports car, and we threw ourselves into the leather seats.
He slammed his foot on the gas pedal, tearing out of the garage just as police cruisers swarmed the front entrance.
I gasped for air, my heart hammering so hard I thought my chest was going to crack open.
I asked Arthur desperately where we were going in the middle of this terrifying night.
He said we had to get to my parents' small suburban house immediately.
If Eleanor was willing to shoot me in public, my helpless family was in terrible, imminent danger.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my father's familiar cell number with shaking fingers.
It rang four agonizing times before going straight to a generic, automated voicemail.
I tried my mother's phone next, but I received the exact same terrifying result.
A cold, heavy dread settled deep in the very bottom of my stomach.
We drove like absolute maniacs, ignoring every single red light on the empty city streets.
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We arrived at my childhood home exactly twelve minutes later.
The heavy wooden front door of my house had been violently kicked entirely off its rusty hinges.
