Chapter 26 - The Monster Behind the Mask
The heat in the cellar was rising at a terrifying speed, turning the subterranean space into an oven.
Smoke billowed through the gaps in the stone ceiling, dropping the visibility to mere inches.
"You never loved anyone, Eleanor," Arthur said, taking a slow step toward her through the swirling haze.
"Love is a weakness for fools like you," she sneered, stepping away from the pillar into a fighting stance.
"You killed your first husband in Kennebunk," Arthur stated, his voice ringing against the brick arches. "You poisoned him."
Eleanor’s smile widened, revealing teeth stained with soot.
"He was boring, Arthur. Just like you," she hissed.
Without warning, she lunged forward, swinging the bronze candlestick with murderous force.
Arthur ducked, but the heavy metal grazed the top of his shoulder, sending a shockwave of pain down his spine.
He tackled her around the waist, driving both of them into the damp dirt floor of the coal bunker.
The key flew from Eleanor’s fingers, landing with a soft metallic clink somewhere in the darkness.
Eleanor fought like a wild animal, gouging at Arthur’s eyes with her manicured fingernails.
Arthur pinned her wrists to the ground, his face inches from hers as smoke filled their lungs.
"It's over, Eleanor!" he roared, coughing violently as the heat scorched his throat.
"It’s never over!" she screamed, bucking her hips and throwing him off with desperate, feral strength.
She scrambled to her feet and brought the candlestick down toward his face with both hands.
A loud gunshot cracked through the underground chamber, deafening in the confined space.
Eleanor gasped, her body jolting violently as the candlestick slipped from her grasp and clattered to the stones.
She stumbled backward against the brick pillar, looking down at her side in sheer disbelief.
A dark, widening circle of blood was blooming across her black woolen coat.
Ten feet away, Detective Vance sat slumped against the coal chute, holding Thomas’s discarded revolver in both hands.
His arms were shaking uncontrollably, smoke curling from the barrel of the gun.
Eleanor looked up at Arthur, her breathing shallow and ragged, her manic smile finally shattering into terror.
"Arthur..." she whispered, her voice suddenly sounding small, like the frightened young woman he had met decades ago.
May you like
Above them, the central support beam of the grand salon groaned and cracked with the sound of a cannon shot.
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