“Elias?” I called out, louder this time.

A beam of a flashlight sliced through the dark from the top of the stairs.

It wasn’t Elias.

The light bounced down the steps, illuminating the wet bootprints of someone who had already entered.

I shrank back into the shadow of the grand staircase.

My heart was beating so loud I was sure they could hear it.

The flashlight beam swept across the marble floor, stopping just inches from my shoes.

I held my breath, my hand gripping the heavy brass key in my pocket.

A voice whispered from the dark, cold and unfamiliar.

“We know you have the key, Lena.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the light to find my face.

But instead, a loud crash shattered the glass of the side dining room window.

Alarms didn’t sound.

The power cut had silenced them all.

“Run,” a voice hissed near my ear.

It was Elias, his hand grabbing my elbow in the dark and pulling me toward the side corridor.

We stumbled through the blackness, the sound of breaking glass echoing behind us.