Chapter 9 - The Strength of Small Hands
Vance’s two hired thugs moved up the stairs, but Marcus acted instantly. Drawing his firearm, he fired two warning shots into the ornate plaster ceiling above the stairwell. The deafening CRACK of the gunshots echoed through the mansion. The two thugs, realizing they were facing armed security rather than helpless victims, turned and fled back down the stairs, bursting through the front doors and disappearing into the stormy night.
Commanded by unhinged desperation, Vance didn't run. He lunged forward, swinging the heavy iron crowbar wildly at Marcus. The blow struck Marcus across the forearm, knocking the gun from his hand and sending it clattering down the marble stairs. Marcus collapsed against the banister, groaning in pain as his arm broke.
Arthur stepped in immediately, tackling Vance to the carpeted floor of the upper hallway. The two men struggled frantically, rolling across the floor near the doorway to the guest wing. Vance, fueled by manic adrenaline, managed to push Arthur off, slamming the heavy iron bar against Arthur’s shoulder.
Arthur gasped as a sharp pain shot down his side, causing him to fall back against the wall. Vance stood over him, panting heavily, raising the crowbar above his head with both hands.
"You should have stayed out of my business, Arthur," Vance sneered, his face illuminated by a flash of lightning outside the window. "You should have let those street rats die in the gutter where they belonged!"
Before Vance could bring the bar down, a small shadow darted out from the dark corridor.
Madison sprinted at full speed, holding the wet, heavy rag she had soaked in a bucket of soapy floor cleaner from the utility room. With all the force in her small seven-year-old body, she leaped onto Vance’s back, wrapping the wet, chemical-soaked towel directly across his eyes and face.
"Get away from him!" Madison screamed, pulling back with all her strength.
The harsh floor-cleaning chemicals burned viciously into Vance’s eyes. He let out an agonized shriek, dropping the heavy crowbar to the floor as he clawed frantically at his face, trying to rip the stinging cloth away from his vision. Blinded and stumbling backward in agony, Vance lost his footing at the top of the grand staircase.
He tipped backward over the edge, tumbling down twenty marble steps in a chaotic shower of limbs and groans before crashing heavily onto the cold tile floor of the lower foyer below. He lay there, motionless and wheezing, completely incapacitated.
Arthur sat up, clutching his bruised shoulder, staring in total shock at the seven-year-old girl standing at the top of the stairs, her chest heaving, her hands still trembling from the effort.
Outside, the red and blue emergency lights of half a dozen police cruisers illuminated the rain-slicked windows. Sirens wailed loudly, surrounding the estate as armed officers swarmed through the broken front doors, securing the stunned and blinded Vance on the foyer floor.
Arthur pulled himself up, walked over to Madison, and fell to his knees, pulling her into a fierce, tight embrace. He squeezed her so tightly she could feel his heart hammering against his ribs.
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"You saved me," Arthur whispered, his voice trembling with deep emotion. "You saved me, Madison."
"Wipe. Circle. Wipe," Madison whispered back, a tiny, tired smile breaking through her exhaustion as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I told you... I do the job completely."
