The Divorce by Freida McFadden - 69
69 When I wake up, I can hardly breathe. It takes me a few seconds to get my bearings. I am still in the wine cellar. The last thing I remember is that I was setting fire to the spilled whiskey on the floor. I watched the alcohol catch fire, and I knew it was only a matter of time before the whole c...
69
When I wake up, I can hardly breathe.
It takes me a few seconds to get my bearings. I am still in the wine cellar. The last thing I remember is that I was setting fire to the spilled whiskey on the floor. I watched the alcohol catch fire, and I knew it was only a matter of time before the whole cellar went up in flames, taking care of my Veronica problem for good.
And then…
What happened? How did it all go wrong?
I look over at the corner of the cellar, where the fire is quickly getting out of control. It has spread everywhere that I spilled the whiskey, and it’s now blocking my path to the stairs. Moreover, when I look around, I don’t see Veronica anywhere.
But I do see Ezra, slumped against a wall.
And now it all comes back to me. He hit me! He grabbed a bottle of wine and took me out, preventing me from leaving Veronica to die down here .
How could he do that to me? He’s supposed to be my lawyer! He should be disbarred for this!
The air is heavy with smoke, and when I try to stand up, it’s almost unbearable, and I collapse back onto the floor, hacking my lungs out. Instead, I crawl across the cellar to where Ezra is leaning against the wall.
“Ezra!” I shake his shoulder. “The cellar is on fire! We’ve got to get out of here!”
Except I know in my heart that there’s no way out of the cellar. The bottom steps have already caught fire. And Ezra is passed out, probably from all the smoke inhalation.
“Please wake up!” I shake him again. “We have to go to a karaoke party like it said in the fortune cookie, remember?”
The joke doesn’t register. He’s not waking up.
The fire on the floor is licking the wine racks. A second later, I hear the pop of glass breaking from the heat. Suddenly and all at once, the entire set of racks catches fire. What was previously a small but almost manageable blaze is now a raging fire. In a few more seconds, this entire cellar will be up in flames.
And now it’s coming for me. As I feel my skin start to scorch, I’m glad I wasn’t able to wake Ezra. He’s still unconscious as the fire consumes him.
I can only pray that Veronica gets Teddy out. And that she takes good care of my little boy.