Beneath The Mansion
424 Words
Chapter 14: Beneath the Mansion
The stone door slammed shut.
Silence.
Only the sound of Tife's ragged breathing echoed through the narrow passage.
Darkness surrounded them until Umar reached for an old lantern fixed to the wall. A warm glow flickered to life, revealing a long underground tunnel carved from ancient stone.
Tife looked around in disbelief.
"There's a tunnel beneath the mansion?"
Umar nodded.
"Your grandfather built it decades ago. It was meant as an escape route if the family was ever attacked."
Idris glanced back at the sealed entrance.
"They'll keep searching. We don't have much time."
The three of them hurried deeper into the tunnel.
The air grew colder.
Water dripped from the ceiling, and every footstep echoed through the darkness.
After several minutes, they reached a heavy iron door.
At its center was the crescent moon symbol from Tife's necklace.
Umar stepped aside.
"This door only opens for a member of the Kareem bloodline."
Tife hesitated.
"My family really left all this behind?"
"They left it for you," Idris replied.
With trembling hands, Tife placed the necklace against the symbol.
A loud click echoed through the tunnel.
The door slowly opened.
Inside was a hidden chamber unlike anything she had imagined.
Shelves filled with old journals lined the walls.
Wooden chests sat untouched for years.
In the center of the room stood a large desk.
On it rested a leather-bound diary.
Tife picked it up.
Written on the first page were the words:
To my daughter, Tife...
Tears blurred her vision.
"It's my father's handwriting."
She opened the diary.
"If you're reading this, then I couldn't protect you myself. That is my greatest regret. But never believe the lies they tell you. The greatest enemy of the Kareem family was never outside our home... he was one of us."
The room fell silent.
Farouk...
Or was there someone else?
Before anyone could speak, Idris noticed a blinking red light beneath the desk.
His eyes widened.
"Umar..."
Umar turned.
"What is it?"
"It's a bomb."
A sharp beep echoed through the chamber.
Then another.
And another.
Someone had known they would come here.
Umar grabbed Tife's hand.
"Run!"
As they raced toward the tunnel, a voice crackled through a hidden speaker.
"You escaped the mansion..."
The voice laughed.
"...but you walked straight into my trap."
The countdown continued.
10...
9...
8...
Tife's heart pounded.
The hidden chamber shook as dust fell from the ceiling.
Who had planted the bomb?
And would they escape before time ran out?
End of Chapter 14
- Writer
