Eli Carrow had been staring at the portrait for eleven minutes before he finally reached for the chair.

"Dad!" Eli cried out against the thick wood of the door, tears blinding his vision.

Outside, Vincent stepped over Susan’s groaning body, his heavy leather shoes crunching on broken glass as he approached the kitchen door.

"Eli!" Vincent called out, his voice eerily calm, almost sweet. "I know you're in there with your grandfather. Open the door, Eli. Your father is just hurt. If you open the door and give me the ledger from the safe, I’ll call an ambulance for him."

Arthur pulled Eli away from the keyhole, leaning his back against the heavy island counter.

"He's lying, Eli," Arthur whispered, his eyes filled with fierce determination. "If he gets those ledgers, he kills us all. He’s cornered."

"Is my dad... is he gone?" Eli sobbed quietly.

"Your father is tough," Arthur said, taking Eli’s face in his hands. "We need to get out of this house and get help. There is another exit."

"Where?"

"The old coal chute behind the cold storage freezer," Arthur instructed, pointing toward the back of the walk-in cooler. "It leads out to the garden shed near the woods. But you have to go alone, Eli. I can't climb that chute."

"I'm not leaving you!" Eli insisted, shaking his head furiously.

"You have to," Arthur said firmly. "Take the ledgers and the flash drives. Get to the main road, find a officer, and give them the evidence. It’s the only way to save your father and stop Vincent."

Outside, the kitchen door began to groan under the heavy weight of an axe blade splitting through the oak paneling.

CRACK!

Wood splinters flew into the kitchen as Vincent swung a heavy fire axe against the lock.

"Five minutes, Eli!" Vincent shouted from the hallway. "That's all this door has left!"

Eli swallowed the lump in his throat, wiped his tears, and grabbed the heavy leather ledgers and flash drives, shoving them into his backpack. He looked at his grandfather one last time.

"I’ll be back with help, Grandpa. I promise," Eli swore.

"I know you will, my boy," Arthur smiled weakly. "Now run!"

Eli sprinted into the walk-in cold storage room, weaving past hanging copper hooks and industrial metal shelves until he reached the far back wall. Pushing aside a stack of wooden crates, he found the small, square iron door of the coal chute.