CHAPTER 16 The Rescue Beneath Harrington Manor
CHAPTER 16
The Rescue Beneath Harrington Manor
Vanessa's voice dissolved into static.
Then the transmission died.
The room fell completely silent.
Khloe stared at the black monitor.
"She sounded terrified."
Victor nodded.
"She wasn't acting."
Richard grabbed the old blueprint from the table.
"If Edward discovers what's inside Hope's blanket..."
"...he'll never let either of them leave alive."
Naomi folded the map.
"Then we move."
"Now."
Within three minutes, the group was racing through Jonathan Cole's forgotten service tunnel.
The narrow passage had not been opened in decades.
Dust covered the walls.
Ancient electrical cables hung from the ceiling.
Water dripped steadily somewhere in the darkness.
Victor led the way with a flashlight.
Gabriel followed beside him.
Richard carried a compact medical kit for Khloe.
Harrison and Naomi watched the rear.
Despite the pain from her surgery, Khloe refused to slow down.
Every step carried her closer to Hope.
Nearly twenty minutes later...
Victor stopped.
"We're here."
Ahead stood an old steel door hidden behind cracked concrete.
Its faded brass plaque read:
Harrington Manor – Nursery Access
Richard swallowed hard.
"My father sealed this entrance after Jonathan disappeared."
Gabriel looked at him.
"So you never knew it still existed."
Richard shook his head.
"No."
Victor carefully unlocked the rusted mechanism.
The hinges opened without a sound.
Beyond the doorway stretched a beautifully preserved corridor.
Fresh lights.
Modern security cameras.
Polished marble floors.
Edward had secretly restored the forgotten wing.
Naomi whispered,
"He turned Jonathan's escape route..."
"...into his headquarters."
A muffled voice echoed nearby.
Vanessa.
"No!"
"Please don't!"
Khloe's heart nearly stopped.
She ran toward the sound.
Richard caught her arm.
"It's a trap."
"I don't care."
"Hope is there."
Victor silently signaled everyone to spread out.
Harrison disabled the nearest surveillance camera.
Naomi slipped through a side hallway.
Gabriel memorized every doorway.
The entire operation unfolded with military precision.
They reached the nursery entrance.
The door stood slightly open.
Inside...
Hope slept peacefully in a white crib.
Vanessa stood protectively beside her.
Three armed guards surrounded the room.
Edward Harrington was nowhere to be seen.
One guard grabbed Hope's pink blanket.
"So this is what the old man wanted."
He reached for a knife.
Vanessa stepped in front of him.
"Don't."
"It's only a baby's blanket."
The guard shoved her backward.
She crashed against the wall.
Blood appeared above her eyebrow.
Hope woke instantly.
The baby's frightened cry echoed through the hallway.
Khloe could no longer hold back.
"HOPE!"
She burst into the room.
Everything exploded into motion.
Victor's flashlight struck the first guard across the wrist.
The knife clattered onto the floor.
Richard tackled another guard into the fireplace.
Harrison disarmed the third before he could raise his weapon.
Naomi pulled Vanessa away from the crib.
Gabriel lifted Hope into his arms.
The baby stopped crying almost immediately.
Khloe rushed forward.
"My daughter..."
Gabriel gently placed Hope into her mother's arms.
For the first time since the kidnapping...
Khloe held her daughter again.
Hope blinked sleepily.
Then wrapped her tiny fingers around Khloe's hand.
Khloe broke into tears.
"I'm here."
"I'm never leaving you again."
Vanessa slowly stood.
Her lip was bleeding.
"I'm sorry."
Khloe looked at her in disbelief.
"You tried to kill me."
Vanessa nodded.
"I know."
"I thought Edward would give me everything."
"He promised me the Harrington fortune."
"What he really wanted..."
"...was someone foolish enough to do his dirty work."
She lowered her eyes.
"I deserve prison."
"But Hope doesn't deserve him."
Before anyone could respond...
A slow clap echoed through the nursery.
One.
Two.
Three.
Edward Harrington stepped from a hidden doorway behind the bookshelf.
He wasn't alone.
More than twenty Black Raven operatives surrounded the room.
None pointed their weapons.
Instead...
Every gun was aimed at Victor Ashcombe.
Edward smiled calmly.
"I knew you would find the tunnel."
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"You left it open."
"Of course."
Edward nodded.
"I wasn't waiting for Khloe."
His smile widened.
"I was waiting for you."
Victor's expression hardened.
"You wanted me alive."
Edward took one slow step forward.
"No."
"I wanted the only man who knows where Jonathan hid the last recording."
The room fell silent.
Khloe looked toward Victor.
"There was another recording?"
Victor closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Edward laughed softly.
"The one recording that names the real killer."
He raised his hand.
The Black Raven operatives tightened their circle.
Then Edward spoke the words that froze everyone in place.
May you like
"And Victor..."
"...you've been carrying it in your cane for the last twenty-three years."
