Chapter 23:The prisoner In The Dark
570 Words
The heavy steel door slammed shut.
Boom!
Darkness surrounded Isabella and Damien.
Only a dim emergency light flickered from the ceiling.
"Are you hurt?" Damien asked, helping Isabella to her feet.
"I'm fine."
She looked around the underground chamber.
The walls were made of cold concrete.
There were no windows.
No obvious exit.
Only silence.
Then...
A faint cough echoed from the corner.
Both of them turned.
Someone was there.
A man sat chained to the wall.
His clothes were torn.
His beard had grown long.
His face was covered in dirt.
Slowly...
He lifted his head.
The moment Isabella saw his eyes...
She froze.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The man looked at her with disbelief.
"Isabella?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"D... Dad?"
Damien stared at her.
"Your father?"
The man nodded weakly.
"Yes..."
"My name is Daniel Hart."
"I'm your father."
Isabella stepped backward in shock.
"My father died twenty-three years ago."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"That's what they wanted everyone to believe."
"They staged my death."
"They kept me prisoner..."
"...because I refused to tell them where Amelia hid the evidence."
Isabella's hands trembled.
"So..."
"You've been alive all this time?"
Daniel nodded.
"I never stopped hoping I'd see you again."
Unable to hold back her emotions, Isabella ran to him.
She hugged him tightly despite the chains.
For the first time in her life...
She embraced her real father.
Both of them cried.
Damien quietly turned away, giving them a moment alone.
After several minutes, Isabella wiped away her tears.
"We're getting you out of here."
Daniel shook his head.
"It's not that easy."
He looked at the thick chains around his wrists.
"The keys are with Nathan."
Damien examined the locks.
"They're electronic."
"I might be able to break the control panel."
Just then...
Nathan's voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"What a touching reunion."
The three looked up.
Nathan appeared on a large screen.
"I've waited twenty-three years..."
"...to see this family together again."
Isabella glared at him.
"You'll pay for this."
Nathan smiled.
"Perhaps."
"But first..."
"I have one question."
He pressed another button.
A digital countdown appeared on the wall.
15:00
Fifteen minutes.
"What is that?" Damien asked.
Nathan folded his arms.
"This chamber is filling with poisonous gas."
"When the timer reaches zero..."
"...everyone inside dies."
Isabella's heart pounded.
Nathan continued,
"There is only one way to stop it."
He held up a small remote.
"Bring me the Lancaster flash drive."
"And maybe..."
"I'll let one of you live."
The screen went black.
Immediately...
A faint hissing sound filled the room.
Gas began pouring from hidden vents.
Daniel looked at Isabella.
"Don't give him the flash drive."
"It's the only proof left."
"But you'll die!" Isabella cried.
Daniel smiled gently.
"Your mother and I spent our lives protecting the truth."
"You must protect it too."
Damien grabbed a metal pipe from the floor.
"Talking won't save us."
He struck the control panel beside the steel door.
Bang!
Nothing happened.
The countdown continued.
14:12...
The gas spread slowly through the chamber.
Then...
Isabella noticed something carved into the wall behind her father's chains.
She wiped away the dust.
Three words appeared.
TRUST THE LIGHT.
She looked up.
A single old lantern hung from the ceiling.
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
As she stepped toward it...
The lantern suddenly flickered.
Then...
A section of the wall slowly began to move.
A hidden passage was opening.
- Writer
