Chapter 1 - The Ash and The Echo.
.The grand foyer fell into a suffocating silence.
The chandelier above Damian Cole scattered white light over the marble floor like broken glass.
Six-year-old Ella Lane stood in front of him with both hands clenched into the ruffles of her pale pink dress.
Her cheeks were wet, her breathing uneven, and one sandal strap had come loose from running.
Damian lowered himself to one knee until his eyes were level with hers.
Behind him, four bodyguards waited beneath the sweeping double staircase without speaking.
Ella stared at him as if she had already asked every adult in the world for help.
"My mommy has been missing for three days."
The words were soft enough to disappear beneath the hum of the chandelier.
Damian's jaw tightened.
Harper Lane was the estate manager who knew every room, every staff schedule, and every weakness in the mansion better than anyone.
She was also the one employee who never failed to answer her daughter.
"When did you see her last?"
Ella wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"She was here."
Damian glanced toward the staircase.
Victor Shaw, his head of security and closest friend for twelve years, took one measured step forward.
"We checked the property twice, sir."
Ella shook her head so violently that her blonde half-up ponytail loosened.
"Not there."
She pointed at the marble between Damian and the center table.
Everyone looked down.
There was nothing but flawless white stone veined with gray.
Damian turned back to her.
"Show me."
Ella crossed the foyer and stopped beside a faint seam hidden beneath the reflection of the chandelier.
Victor crouched and ran gloved fingers over the floor.
His expression changed for less than a second.
Damian saw it anyway.
"You knew that was there?"
Victor did not look up.
"Old service access."
He pressed a concealed release near the baseboard.
A heavy square of marble lifted with a metallic groan, revealing a steel hatch beneath it.
Cold air rose from the darkness.
Ella screamed before anyone else saw why.
Harper sat at the bottom of a narrow maintenance chamber with her back against concrete.
Her beige cardigan was torn at the shoulder.
A cut crossed her forehead, and purple bruising darkened one side of her face.
For one terrible moment she did not move.
Then her eyes found Ella.
"Mommy!"
Ella tried to jump into the opening, but Damian caught her around the waist.
Harper lifted one trembling hand.
"Baby, stay there."
Damian leaned over the edge.
Something inside him turned cold.
"Harper."
She looked up at him, and what he saw in her face was not relief.
It was warning.
Victor ordered two guards to bring a ladder and medical kit.
Damian never took his eyes off Harper.
"Who did this to you?"
Her lips parted, but no sound came at first.
She glanced past him toward the men in suits.
Her gaze stopped somewhere behind Damian's shoulder.
Then she whispered.
"Someone you trust."
Damian slowly turned.
Victor stood three steps away, perfectly still.
So did the other guards.
So did Damian's younger brother Lucas, who had just appeared at the top of the staircase in a white shirt, staring down at the open floor.
No one spoke.
The mansion suddenly felt much smaller.
Damian looked back into the chamber.
Harper's eyes widened.
"Don't let them close it again."
May you like
A soft electronic click sounded beneath the marble.
The hidden hatch began moving on its own.
