Chapter 19: The Iron Graveyard
The chase led them to the rooftop of the old, crumbling textile mill. The wind howled, whipping Lydia’s hair across her tear-stained face. She backed up against the rusted railing, staring down at the turbulent river below.
"Don't take another step!" she shrieked, balancing dangerously on the edge.
Grant stopped, holding his hands up. "It's over, Lydia. Just turn yourself in."
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Suddenly, the rusted metal of the railing gave a sickening groan. It wasn't Lydia who jumped, but the rotting infrastructure of the building that failed her. The iron snapped. Lydia let out a blood-curdling scream as she fell backward into the abyss, her hands grasping wildly at the empty air.
Grant rushed to the edge, but all he saw were the dark, churning waters of the river below swallowing her whole. He stood alone in the freezing wind, the brass key—which she had dropped in her desperate attempt to grab the ledge—now clutched in his hand, wondering if he had truly saved his family, or if the nightmare had only just begun.
