Chapter 19 - THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AT BLACKWATER LAKE
Before Claire could lower the tablet, Evelyn’s car engine roared to life.
Evelyn didn't hesitate. She threw the sedan into reverse, swung the wheel violently, and executed a flawless J-turn across the narrow road, the front bumper clipping Claire’s SUV and sending Claire stumbling into the muddy ditch with a furious shriek.
"Daniel! Get in!" Maya screamed, kicking the rear door open.
Daniel lunged forward, grabbed the tablet that had flown from Claire's hands into the wet grass, and dove into the backseat as Evelyn floored the accelerator.
The car shot forward down the opposite fork of the road, the engine screaming as Evelyn pushed the vehicle to its absolute limit. Behind them, Claire scrambled up from the mud, screaming into her satellite radio as two more black SUVs appeared on the horizon, joining the pursuit.
"She killed Sarah," Daniel gasped, his chest heaving, his fingers clutching the tablet. "Evelyn... she killed Sarah."
Evelyn looked at him through the mirror, her face pale, tears glistening in her eyes. "Then we don't go to the clinic. The clinic can't protect us. We go to Blackwater Lake. Right now."
Forty minutes later, the storm hit with full fury. Sheets of torrential rain lashed the windshield as the sedan navigated the winding, treacherous mountain roads leading to Blackwater Lake. Noah was semi-conscious now, burning with a fever, his small head resting on Maya’s lap as she applied cold compresses to his forehead, silently weeping.
"Hold on, Noah," Maya whispered, kissing his damp cheek. "Please hold on, baby. Mommy’s here. We’re almost there."
The car crested a rocky ridge, revealing the dark, churning expanse of the lake below. Perched on a jagged granite peninsula jutting into the black water sat the Vance family ancestral manor—a sprawling, gothic fortress of stone, iron gates, and towering spires.
Evelyn slammed through the estate's outer perimeter gate, the heavy iron lock snapping under the car’s reinforced bumper. They sped down the long, winding driveway flanked by ancient cypress trees, skidding to a halt before the massive double doors of the manor.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning split the sky, followed instantly by a deafening crash of thunder.
Every light in the massive estate blinked once, twice, and died.
Total darkness swallowed the peninsula.
"The power’s cut," Evelyn hissed. "They tripped the substation."
Daniel opened the car door, pulling Noah into his arms, wrapping his jacket around the boy. "Maya, Evelyn, stay behind me. Don't leave my side."
They sprinted through the torrential downpour up the wide granite steps. Daniel slammed his fist against the massive iron-studded oak door.
"Jonathan Vance!" Daniel shouted into the howling wind. "Jonathan! *The Silver Syringe!* Open the door!"
For three agonizing seconds, there was only the roar of the rain and the groaning of the cypress trees.
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Then, with a heavy pneumatic hiss, the enormous door unlatched and swung inward into pitch-black darkness.
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