The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Chapter 141

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Quick as a flash, Hannah grabbed a vine. A branch snagged her sleeve, scratching her arm with a sharp sting. She reached for another hold with her free hand, but the vine suddenly snapped, and she went tumbling down.

With a loud thud that echoed in the emptiness, Hannah landed on the balls of her feet, knees bent, and managed to steady

herself.

She’d managed to catch herself on a few vines during the fall, which kept her from getting totally wrecked, but the price was her palms, scraped raw and burning with pain.

Hannah ignored the burning pain in her hands and quickly scanned her surroundings.

Overhead, a sliver of sky peeked through the narrow crack in the mountain where she’d fallen. The gap soared a thousand feet above, its edges lost to sight.

Sunlight poured down from above, making it seem as if the mountain had split open, baring a jagged maw to the sky.

If she hadn’t slipped, she never would’ve realized such a massive chasm was hidden beneath her feet.

The split in the mountain looked like a work of nature, but behind her yawned a wide, half-dome chamber, almost as if someone had hollowed out the mountain by hand. The space stretched deep, swallowed by shadow.

Scattered among the rocks, a narrow stream of crystal-clear spring water trickled by. A few plump rats lingered at the water’s edge, eyeing her with suspicion.

Once she was sure it was safe, Hannah made her way to the stream, washed her hands and face, and took a few gulps of the water. It was icy cold, enough to make her teeth ache.

Her arm was still bleeding, so without hesitation, she tore off the ripped sleeve of her sweater and tied it tightly around her arm to staunch the bleeding.

Her coat was still up there, and all she had left was a thin wool sweater, and even that had a torn sleeve. The cold in the cave was starting to bite.

Night was coming, and once darkness fell, it’d be freezing. She had to get out of here before that happened.

Climbing back up was out of the question. Hannah followed the stream downstream for a bit, and the rats scattered into the darkness.

Eventually, the stream fed into a small pool. She watched the water carefully, it flowed toward the hollowed-out area behind her, and there seemed to be a lower level beneath her feet.

But it was deep and pitch black, and Hannah hesitated, afraid to go in.

The mountain walls sealed off both sides. Unless she managed to climb out, she’d be trapped here, waiting to die.

Gritting her teeth, Hannah thought, ‘Dead either way. Might as well check it out.’

She steeled herself and stepped forward, one cautious foot after another.

Suddenly, a soft clack echoed in the empty cave. She’d kicked something. Glancing down, she spotted a military flashlight lying on the ground.

She picked it up, brushed off the dust, and flicked the switch. To her surprise, the beam cut through the darkness.

Now that she had some light, Hannah spotted a beat-up backpack lying not far ahead. Something inside was rustling, so she nudged a stone toward it to see what would happen.

Mon,

Chapter 141

With a sharp squeak, a rat the size of a housecat shot out and vanished into the shadows.

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Hannah swung the flashlight beam after the rat, and suddenly, her light caught on something she hadn’t expected, a copper door, hidden deep within the cave.

She started rummaging through the battered backpack. The reek of rat urine was overwhelming, Hannah grimaced and fanned the air in front of her nose, trying not to gag.

After a moment, she steeled herself and kept digging, determined to see if anything useful was left.

The backpack was covered in dust and streaked with marks from being dragged around, probably by rats. The zipper was shredded by their teeth, and most of the stuff inside had spilled out along the way.

All that remained were a few biscuit wrappers gnawed to bits, a dented water bottle, and a dagger.

‘Better than nothing,’ Hannah thought, grabbing the dagger for protection before heading toward the copper door.

The concrete floor in front of the copper door was set with a pattern made from little black and white tiles, standing out sharp and mysterious in the dim light.

‘Who would go to the trouble of carving out a giant chamber in the middle of a mountain, only to seal it off with a copper door? Was it hiding some kind of tomb, or maybe something even stranger?’ she thought to herself.

As Hannah got closer, she could see the copper had aged and was covered in a thick blanket of dust. On each side of the door, ancient guardians had been carved, staring out with faded features, shrouded in grime and mystery.

Right in the middle was a hefty lock, dust blanketing every edge. All she’d need was the right key, then this whole door could swing open.

But Hannah knew it wasn’t that simple. This was a puzzle lock, a hidden trap built into the door. Even with the key, she couldn’t just stick it in and turn. She had to line up the internal mechanisms perfectly, or the door wouldn’t budge.

She was dying to try her hand at picking this kind of lock, but now wasn’t the time ‘First things first, I need to get out of here,’ she told herself.

Hannah swept her flashlight across the area and noticed what seemed to be a hidden passage on her right. She took a step toward it, but suddenly froze, it felt like she’d stepped on something hard beneath her foot.

She moved her foot aside and aimed the flashlight down, spotting a black pearl earring, no bigger than a pinky nail, nestled between two white tiles.

Hannah thought it looked familiar. She picked it up, the hook was rusted, like it had been lying there forever.

She remembered being five years old, eager to show off what she’d learned in kindergarten craft class, so she made a pair of black pearl earrings as a Mother’s Day present for her adoptive mom.

That memory stuck with her because she was so clumsy trying to drill holes in the pearls, she missed the mark and jabbed her own finger, blood spilling everywhere.

Too scared to tell her parents, she was lucky Barnaby was there to patch her up and even helped finish drilling the pearls.

In the end, those earrings became a gift from both her and Barnaby to her adoptive mom.

Her mom had been thrilled and wore them for a while, but after she came back from a business trip, Hannah realized she never saw her mom wear them again.

Hannah had asked her about it once, and her mom had looked a little guilty, apologizing and saying she must’ve lost one.

Hannah rolled the black pearl between her fingers, trying to remember what those old earrings looked like.

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Chapter 141

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She couldn’t recall the details, so she wondered, ‘Could it really be such a coincidence? Did my adoptive mom actually come here years ago?”

She shot a look back at the copper door, thinking, ‘Once I get out, I’ll come back with the right gear and see what’s behind it:

She tucked the pearl into her pocket and headed deeper into the hidden passage.

The hidden passage turned out to be a rough staircase climbing upward. Hannah glanced up and spotted a faint glimmer of light, with a chilly breeze blowing in from above. “That must be the way out, she thought.

Hannah didn’t hesitate, she scrambled up the steps. Halfway there, her flashlight flickered twice, then quit on her, leaving her in the dark.

Outside, night had already fallen, and the passage was instantly swallowed by pitch blackness. Hannah couldn’t see a thing, and cold sweat started to bead on her forehead. ‘Seriously? Now?’ she thought, panic rising.

‘Don’t freak out, don’t freak out. Just keep climbing… just keep climbing… Hannah muttered to herself, trying to keep it together.

I can’t collapse here. I still haven’t found my adoptive mom’s killer, I haven’t proved my adoptive dad’s innocence, and I’ haven’t even tasted Barnaby’s home-cooked steak yet… she reminded herself, refusing to let fear take over.

Hannah kept chanting those words in her mind, shutting her eyes tight and forcing her shaking arms and legs to drag her upward, step by step.

It felt like she’d been climbing for half a lifetime, but at last, Hannah hauled herself up to the mouth of the cave. She was drenched in cold sweat, as if she’d just crawled out of a river.

She collapsed at the entrance, her breath coming in ragged gasps, limbs trembling so hard she could barely move.

Suddenly, a beast’s low snarl rumbled right next to her ear. Hannah’s eyes snapped open, out in the darkness, dozens of green eyes glowed, all fixed on her.

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11:28 Mon, Dec 22