Chapter 15 - THE CELL IN THE ROCK
Linh pulled herself out of the slippery stone drainage shaft, gasping quietly as she crawled into the cold, humid interior of the subterranean fortress.
The air smelled of damp moss, salt, and rusting iron.
Dodging the flickering yellow spotlights from the upper gantry, Linh moved like a shadow through the damp stone corridors, following the sound of dripping water deep into the lower prison cells.
Near the end of a narrow damp corridor, guarded by a single iron bar door, sat a thin woman in a torn blue tunic.
Her dark hair was streaked with grey, her face bruised and exhausted, but her eyes—those sharp, resilient hazel eyes—were unmistakable.
She was holding a worn, laminated photograph of a young girl standing outside a train station.
"Mai..." Linh whispered from the shadows of the corridor.
The woman in the cell froze. She slowly lifted her head, her hands trembling violently as she dropped the photograph onto the stone floor.
"Linh...?" Mai choked out, rising to her feet on shaking legs and rushing to the iron bars. "No... no, how did you find me? Han... Han told me you were dead!"
Linh stepped up to the cell, reaching her arms through the heavy iron bars to pull her little sister into a tight, desperate embrace, tears spilling freely down both their cheeks.
"I'm alive, Mai," Linh sobbed, pressing her forehead against her sister's bruised cheek. "And your children are safe on Binh's boat."
Mai wept open tears of relief, holding onto Linh's arms for dear life.
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Suddenly, a cold, heavy metallic click echoed from the top of the stone stairwell behind them.
"How touching," Detective Han’s voice boomed from the shadows, followed by the slow, rhythmic applause of his heavy leather boots descending the stairs. "The long-lost sisters reunited at last."
