His Family Disowned Him for Exposing a Deadly Secret—Six Years Later, He Was the Firefighter Sent to Their Burning Mansion

Chapter 07 - Three Lives, One Tank of Air

Ethan wedged his axe beneath the burning beam while Lily pulled on the opposite side. The wood shifted an inch, then fell back. Richard cried out as smoke thickened around them.

“Again,” Ethan ordered.

Vivian tried to help, but her knees gave way. Ethan checked his gauge. Less than four minutes of air remained.

He could carry Vivian or free Richard. He could guide Lily or search for another exit. Every choice seemed to sacrifice someone.

Then he remembered the piano.

As children, he and Lily had discovered a maintenance hatch beneath it, opening into a narrow storage room connected to the garden wall. Their father had laughed when he found them hiding there. Later, Grant had ordered the hatch covered during renovations.

“Lily, move the bench,” Ethan said.

She understood immediately. Together they shoved the grand piano enough to expose a brass ring in the floor. Lily pulled. The hatch opened, releasing a thin stream of cooler air.

A way out.

But Richard was still pinned.

Ethan wrapped a rescue strap around the beam and anchored it to the piano’s iron frame. “When I pull, drag his leg free.”

“You’ll hurt yourself,” Vivian said.

“I’ve been hurt before.”

He pulled with everything he had. The strap tightened. The beam rose just enough. Lily seized her father beneath the arms, and Vivian dragged his injured leg clear.

The ceiling cracked.

Ethan pushed Lily into the hatch first, then helped Vivian lower Richard. He followed as fire rolled across the room above them. The storage tunnel was barely tall enough to crawl through. Richard faded in and out of consciousness. Vivian’s escape hood began fogging. Lily kept moving, guided by Ethan’s flashlight.

Behind them, the piano crashed through the weakened floor.

His air alarm screamed.

At the tunnel’s end, they found the exterior door sealed by a new steel plate. Grant had blocked the old exit.

Richard saw the bolts and began to laugh weakly. “He said it was for security.”

“Who?” Ethan asked.

Richard did not answer.

Ethan removed his mask for one dangerous second and gave Richard two breaths from his regulator. Then he struck the plate with his axe. Once. Twice. The metal bent but held.

Outside, Maya heard faint pounding beneath the garden terrace. She called firefighters over and pressed her ear to the stone.

“Ethan!” she shouted.

He heard her voice through the wall.

With Noah and two others striking from outside, the plate finally tore free. Fresh air rushed into the tunnel. Lily crawled out, then Vivian. Ethan pushed Richard toward waiting hands.

Just as Maya reached for him, the tunnel collapsed.