Chapter 4
Adrian paced the dark room, counting seconds.
He had to get out.
He had to get Noah back.
He examined the door. Solid oak. No handle on the inside.
The window was tiny, barred.
He checked the walls.
Nothing but old plaster.
Then he heard footsteps outside.
Two guards talking.
“Lady Vivian says keep him locked up until morning.”
“What about the boy?”
“Up in the tower room. Locked in. She says Adrian will sign once he’s had a night to think it over.”
Adrian’s stomach twisted.
The tower room. High up. No way out.
He kept listening.
“Did you see the papers?” one guard asked. “She’s taking everything. The house, the company, every penny.”
“And the kid?”
“Just leverage. She doesn’t care about him. Never has.”
Adrian gripped the wall.
He had suspected it. Now he knew it for certain.
Vivian never wanted guardianship to care for Noah.
She wanted Adrian to break.
She wanted him terrified enough to sign away his entire life just to get his son back.
The footsteps faded away.
Adrian stopped pacing.
Panic would not save Noah.
He needed to think.
He felt along the base of the wall.
Loose brick.
He pulled at it. It shifted.
He worked it free.
Behind it was an old iron key.
His heart raced.
He remembered his grandfather telling him once—the old hiding place for an emergency key.
Adrian jammed it into the lock.
It turned.
Silently.
He opened the door a crack.
The hallway was empty.
He slipped out.
Every step felt like thunder.
He knew this estate better than anyone.
He took the back stairs.
Avoided the main halls.
Climbed higher and higher.
Toward the tower.
When he reached the top landing, he saw a guard standing outside the door.
Adrian crept up behind him.
He struck once, hard and fast.
The guard slumped.
Adrian caught him and lowered him quietly to the floor.
He unlocked the tower door.
He stepped inside.
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The room was empty.
Noah was gone.
