Chapter 4 - THE IRON BARS OF ST. JUDE'SRain poured over the iron gates of St. Jude Asylum. Deep in the subterranean level, water dripped onto the cold floor of Cell 104. Leo sat in the corner, iron shackles binding his thin ankles. His cheek was bruised where an orderly had struck him.
Yet, Leo wasn't crying. In the center of his dirty palm, he held Clara’s crystal hair clip, which he had caught right before being dragged away.
"You're going to die in here, kid," a raspy voice croaked from the dark cell across the corridor.
Leo looked up. An old man sat on a bed of straw, his hair matted and eyes milky with cataracts. "Who are you?" Leo whispered.
"A ghost," the old man chuckled darkly. "I used to be Dr. Julian Croft, Chief Neurologist of the Royal Academy... until I discovered something the rich didn't like."
"What did you discover?"
"That paralysis of the spirit cannot be cured with knives or drugs," Dr. Croft said. "Thirty years ago, I realized the human spine carries an electrical pulse tied to emotion and movement. But Lord Richard Vance bought my research, declared me insane, and threw me in this dungeon so he could hoard my discoveries."
Leo stood up, his chains rattling. "Richard Vance?"
"Aye," Dr. Croft grinned. "Richard didn't want the girl cured. He's been feeding her small doses of neurotoxin—disguised as imported medicine—ever since her accident. He wants the fortune."
Cold horror washed over Leo. "She took three steps tonight," Leo said fiercely. "She moved. But they locked me in here. If I don't get out, he’s going to kill her!"
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"You can't break out of St. Jude's, boy," Dr. Croft said softly.
"Then I won't break the walls," Leo said, his eyes burning with determination. "I'll break the floor."
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