Chapter 14 - Blackwood Sanatorium
It took three hours of driving through a torrential downpour to reach the remote, jagged cliffs where Blackwood Sanatorium loomed like a gothic fortress. It was a private facility, infamous among the ultra-rich for making "problems" disappear with total discretion.
Clara parked the car in the shadows of the tree line.
"Stay here," Clara ordered, locking the doors. "Keep the engine running. If I’m not back in twenty minutes, you drive to the nearest police station. Understand?"
"I'm going with you," Julian insisted, unbuckling his seatbelt. "She's my mom."
Clara looked at the boy’s determined face and knew she couldn't stop him. "Fine. Stay behind me."
They slipped through the rusted wrought-iron gates. Clara used her lock picks on the side entrance, slipping into a sterile, bleach-scented hallway. The asylum was eerily quiet, staffed by heavily paid guards who were mostly asleep at their desks.
Using the ledger, Clara checked the room numbers. Patient E.V. - Room 412. Solitary.
They crept up four flights of stairs, avoiding the security cameras. When they reached Room 412, a burly orderly was sitting in a chair, reading a magazine.
May you like
Clara didn't hesitate. She grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher from the wall, crept up behind the orderly, and brought it down hard on the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor.
Clara grabbed his keycard and swiped it. The heavy steel door hissed open.
