The trek down the burning hallway felt like walking through an oven. Fire singed the edges of Hannah's blue uniform, but she paid no attention to the pain. She kept her head tucked down, shielding Leo's face with her own body as she ducked beneath falling pieces of burning trim. The air was so hot it burned her throat with every breath, yet she refused to slow down. She kept her feet moving forward, step by step, guided by the familiar layout of the grand house.
As she reached the top of the main staircase, the air cleared slightly where the double height ceiling rose above the foyer. Down below, the massive front doors were standing wide open. Vanessa was standing near the doorway, holding her legal files and watching the staircase with an expression of shock and outrage. She clearly had not expected Hannah to return from the burning upper floor, let alone carry the young heir out alive.
Hannah made her way down the marble stairs, her legs shaking from exhaustion and the weight of the child. Every step took immense effort, but the sight of the open front doors kept her moving. Outside, the distant wail of fire truck sirens began to echo down the long estate driveway. The local authorities were already on their way, summoned by the automated alarm system built into the house.
When Hannah reached the bottom of the stairs, she stepped out onto the cool tiled entry floor. Vanessa stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she tried to block the path toward the outer terrace. Her hands trembled around her precious leather folder, her dark green dress smelling faintly of accelerant. She tried to put on a worried face, but her cold eyes revealed her dark intentions.
Vanessa: Oh thank goodness! You saved him! Let me take him now, Hannah!
Hannah: Stay away from us, Vanessa! Do not touch him!
Vanessa: Give me the child! I am his stepmother and legal guardian right now!
Leo: No! Stay away from me!
Leo lifted his head from Hannah's shoulder, his small face pale and covered in black soot. He pointed his trembling finger directly at Vanessa's face, his voice cracking with pure emotion as the sirens drew near the front gates.
Leo: She wanted me gone! She trapped me in my room!
Vanessa: He is confused! He was inhaling smoke! He does not know what he is saying!
Hannah: He knows exactly what happened, and so do I! You blocked his door with a chair!
Vanessa stepped back as the bright red lights of emergency vehicles swept across the front courtyard. Sirens cut through the quiet afternoon air as fire engines and police cars screeched to a halt right outside the front doors. Firefighters rushed inside with heavy hoses while police officers sprinted up the wide marble front steps.