My stomach tightened. Vivian’s lie suddenly gained a terrible weight in my mind. What if she was telling the partial truth? What if his mind really was gone?
“Dad, you’re safe,” I said, trying to soothe him.
He ignored me, turning his head weakly to stare at the massive wall of bookshelves to our left. “Don't sign... don't let them have the blank pages. The blank pages...” He slumped against the handcuffs, his energy fading as his eyes rolled back slightly.
I stood up, deeply unsettled. He wasn't making any sense.
“You see?” Daniel said from across the room, an arrogant smirk returning to his face. “His brain is rotting. He’s completely unhinged. Step away from him, Marcus. Let the professionals handle this.”
“I’m calling an ambulance,” I said, reaching into my pocket for my phone. “And then I’m calling the police.”
Daniel cocked the hammer of the gun. The metallic click was deafening in the quiet room. “Put the phone on the desk.”
I stopped. I looked at Vivian. She wasn't stopping him. She was watching me with a cold detachment that chilled me to the bone.
Before I could calculate my next move, a sweep of bright headlights cut through the gap in the heavy velvet curtains, casting long, shifting shadows across the library floor. The crunch of heavy tires on the gravel driveway signaled the arrival of a large vehicle outside.
Daniel smiled. “The transport team is here. Excellent timing. They’ll take Harrison to the secure facility. You and Leo will go back to California in the morning. And this unfortunate episode will remain a private family matter.”
I looked at the heavy brass lock on the door. I looked at Daniel’s rigid stance. The men arriving outside weren't doctors. If they took my father, he was never coming back. And if Daniel let those men into the room, Leo and I wouldn't be going back to California either. We were loose ends.
I had to get my son out of this room.
“Leo,” I whispered, keeping my eyes locked on Daniel. “When I move, you run to the door. Turn the deadbolt and don't stop running until you reach the woods.”
“I can't,” Leo whispered back, his voice trembling. “The key is gone.”
I looked at the door. Leo was right. The lock required a key from the inside, and Daniel had slipped it into his jacket pocket.
There was no negotiation left.
I kicked the heavy wooden chair near the desk directly at Daniel’s legs and launched myself across the room.
Daniel fired. The sound was deafening, the muzzle flash blinding in the dim light. The bullet shattered the plaster ceiling above my head, showering us in white dust.
I crashed into Daniel, driving my shoulder into his sternum. We slammed into the mahogany desk, scattering papers and crystal paperweights. He was heavier than I expected, fueled by desperation. He swung the gun blindly, the steel barrel catching me above the eye. Warm blood immediately blinded my left side, but I didn't stop. I pinned his gun arm against the desk and drove my knee into his ribs.
“Vivian! The boy!” Daniel roared, struggling beneath me.
I heard Vivian’s heels click across the floor. “Come here, you little brat!” she yelled.
I turned my head, fighting to keep Daniel pinned. Vivian had grabbed Leo by the collar of his sweater, dragging him backward. Leo was kicking wildly, screaming for me.
“Let him go!” I roared.
I dug my hand into Daniel’s jacket pocket, my fingers searching frantically until they closed around the heavy brass library key. I ripped it free.
Daniel bucked hard, throwing me off balance. As I fell backward, I hurled the key across the rug.
“Leo, the key! Go!”
Leo stopped pulling away from Vivian. Instead, he twisted his body and sank his teeth viciously into Vivian’s wrist.
She shrieked in pain, her grip snapping open. Leo hit the floor, scrambled on his hands and knees, and snatched the brass key from the rug. He shoved it into the lock, using both hands to turn the heavy mechanism.