Chapter 1 - The Water Trap
The mansion’s glass-wall panoramic elevator became a deadly aquarium in a matter of seconds.
Valeria had stepped inside alone to head down to the ground floor. She was eight months pregnant, her body heavy with exhaustion. The moment the polished doors slid shut, the overhead lights flickered frantically.
With a deafening mechanical shudder, the elevator ground to a halt between floors.
A split second later, a high-pressure jet of water burst from the ceiling vents.
Valeria looked up, her heart leaping into her throat. "What is happening?!"
She slammed her hand onto the emergency button. Dead silence. No dial tone. No answer.
She threw her weight against the doors, clawing at the seams. Completely locked.
The water kept pouring. It covered the floor in seconds. Then her ankles. Then her knees.
On the other side of the glass shaft, a woman stood in the private control room overlooking the atrium.
It was Teresa—Daniel’s mother.
Her fingers rested on the hydraulic override panel with absolute, chilling tranquility.
"When the elevator drops into the artificial lake," Teresa murmured to herself, "everyone will think it was just an unfortunate mechanical failure."
Valeria pounded hysterically on the reinforced glass. "I'm pregnant! Please! Help me!"
Teresa’s expression didn't flinch. She simply turned a second valve.
The water pressure doubled, roaring as it flooded the cab. Within sixty seconds, the icy water rose to Valeria’s waist. She struggled to breathe, clutching her stomach with both hands to shelter her unborn child.
Then, the roar of an engine shattered the tension outside.
A sports car screeched to a halt in front of the estate. Daniel leaped out before the vehicle even came to a stop.
A panicked security guard tried to block his path. "Sir! The system was hacked! It's locked down!"
Daniel looked up into the atrium.
He saw Valeria trapped in the rising tide, the water already lapping against her chest. In an instant, he realized this was no freak accident.
He sprinted to the emergency station on the wall, ripped a heavy fire extinguisher from its mount, and charged the glass elevator shaft.
He swung with all his strength.
CRACK!
Once. Twice. Three times.
The heavy glass barely spiderwebbed. It was high-grade bulletproof acrylic.
"Hold on!" Daniel roared, swinging again. "Valeria, hold on!"
Valeria pressed a trembling, pale hand against the glass, tears streaming down her face. "Daniel..."
Suddenly, a searing, white-hot pain tore through her abdomen. She collapsed forward, gasping for air.
A violent contraction. Then another.
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She looked at her husband through the glass, her eyes wide with absolute horror.
"Daniel..." she choked out. "The baby... the baby is coming NOW."
