Chapter 41 Not Without A Fight

Chapter 41 Not Without A Fight
I did not wake up to the sound of the waves. I woke up to a heavy kind of silence.  

I sat up in bed, my heart beating fast. The house was too quiet. The heater was not humming, and the small green light on the smoke detector was off. The power was out.  

"Edward?" I whispered, reaching out to his side of the bed. It was empty. 

I got out of bed fast and grabbed the flashlight from the nightstand. I did not turn it on immediately. I moved by memory. When I reach the door. I opened it, the stairs were dark like a tunnel. 

"Sarah? Leo?" I called out. The only answer was the sound of the ocean crashing against the cliffs.  

I rushed downstairs to Arthur's room. I pushed the door open so hard it hit the wall with a loud bang. I turned on the flashlight.

Sarah was there, slumped over in the rocking chair. For a second, I thought she was dead, but her chest was moving. 

I ran to the crib. "Arthur!"  

He was there, still sleeping, but the baby monitor on the railing was glowing with a strange red light. It was not monitoring his breathing anymore. A small screen on the device turned on, and Lily’s face appeared.  

"Good morning, Serena," she said. "Did you think a few locks would keep me out?"  

I grabbed Arthur and held him close to my chest. His small weight was the only thing keeping me from falling apart. "Where is Edward? What did you do?"  

"Edward is chasing ghosts," Lily laughed. "He is so predictable. He did not realize I wanted him to find that phone. I wanted him to leave you alone."  

As she spoke, I heard the sound of high heels on the wooden floor downstairs. She was inside.  

"Sarah! Wake up!" I screamed, shaking the nurse's shoulder. She groaned but did not open her eyes. She was out cold.  

I had to move. I grabbed the diaper bag with one hand and held Arthur with the other. I remembered what Edward said about the safe room in the cellar.  

I ran out of the nursery and toward the stairs. I turned off the flashlight. I stayed close to the wall and moved my feet quietly across the carpet.  

Downstairs, I could hear men talking.  

"Check the kitchen," a voice ordered. "Lily wants the woman alive.”

I reached the top of the stairs. I opened the guest bedroom. The rug in there hid the trapdoor to the cellar. I crawled on my knees, keeping Arthur shielded by my body. Every time he made a small sound, I held my breath.  

I reached for the edge of the heavy rug. I pulled it back. The sound of the fabric sliding on the wood felt as loud as a gunshot. I found the handle of the trapdoor and pulled. It was heavy, but fear gave me strength.  

I climbed down the wooden ladder into the dark, damp cellar. I pulled the door shut above me and slid the iron bolt into place.  

I was in total darkness. The smell of old wood and salt water was strong. I sat on the cold stone floor and rocked Arthur.  

"It’s okay, it’s okay," I whispered to him, though I was really saying it to myself.  

Above me, heavy boots entered the dining room.  

"She’s not in the kitchen," the voice said. "The nurse is upstairs, but the girl and the baby are gone."

I heard the sound of furniture being moved. My heart pounded in my chest. I looked around the cellar with my flashlight. It was a small room with stone walls. There were shelves of wine and a few crates of emergency supplies.  

In the corner, I saw a small metal box. I opened it. Inside was a radio and a flare gun.  

A flare gun. It was not a real gun, but it was something.  

"Look under the rug," I heard Lily’s voice say. She sounded like she was standing right on top of me.  

The rug was pulled back. I heard them pulling at the trapdoor. 

"Locked from the inside," a man said. "They’re down there."  

"Break it open," Lily shouted.  

Thud!  
A heavy axe hit the wood. Dust fell from the ceiling into my hair.  

I stood up and backed away from the ladder. I reached for the radio in the box. I turned the dial, praying the batteries were not dead.  

"Edward! Edward, can you hear me?" 

Static. Only static.  

Thud!  

"Edward, please!" I cried out.  

Suddenly, I heard a voice. 
"Serena? I’m here! We’re coming back! The warehouse was a trap. We’re five minutes away. Hold on!"  

"They’re breaking in, Edward! They’re right here!"  

The trapdoor shattered. 

I did not think. I grabbed the flare gun, aimed it at the opening, and pulled the trigger.  
A bright red light exploded in the cellar. The man screamed as the flare hit the wood near his head. The dining room filled with thick, choking smoke.  

"Agggh! My eyes!" he yelled, falling backward off the ladder.  

"Get down there!" Lily screamed. 

I ran to the back of the cellar. I found a small ventilation grate that led outside. It was too small for me, but it was near the ground.  

"Sarah! Sarah!" I heard a voice. It was Leo, the driver. He sounded like he was fighting someone.  

Gunshots echoed through the house. Pop! Pop! Pop!  

The men above the cellar stopped.  

"We’ve got company!" one of them shouted.

The room above went quiet. 

Minutes felt like hours. The sounds of gunshots moved from the kitchen to the living room, and then outside to the driveway. I heard shouting, the sound of breaking glass, and then silence.  

"Serena?"  

It was a voice I knew. It was not the radio. It was coming from the room above me.  

"Serena, it’s Edward!"  

I stood up, my legs shaking so hard I almost fell. I climbed the ladder and slid the bolt back. Edward pulled the door open and pulled me out.  

He was covered in dust and sweat. His shirt was torn. He grabbed us both and hugged us tight.  

"You’re safe," “You’re safe."

I looked around the dining room. Mark was there, holding a man down on the floor. Two other men were in handcuffs. But I did not see Lily.  

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice shaking.  

Edward answered, "She got to a boat at the bottom of the cliff. But Mark’s team is tracking the signal. She has nowhere to go, Serena. The police are waiting at the next harbor."  

I looked out the window. The sun was starting to rise over the ocean. The water was turning bright gold.  

"Is it over?" I asked.  

Edward looked at me, then at our son.  

"The running is over," he said. "Now, we finish it."  

I sat down on the sofa, holding Arthur close. I was exhausted, but for the first time, the fear did not feel like a weight. Lily had tried to take my life. She had tried to take my child.  

She made a big mistake.