Chapter 7 - The Clock Strikes Midnight
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. In the tight, shadowy confines of the stalled elevator, the barrel of Marcus Vance's gun looked like a gaping black abyss.
"Marcus, don't do this," Harrison said, his voice deadly calm, not an ounce of fear showing on his face. He didn't move a muscle, keeping his body positioned slightly in front of mine. "Silas is a sinking ship. The DNA evidence is already on the public servers. Killing us won't stop the truth from coming out."
"The public has a short memory, Harrison," Marcus sneered, his finger tightening on the trigger. "A tragic elevator malfunction, a terrible fire in the shaft... Silas will spin it as a tragic accident. The imposter and her billionaire backer died before the claims could be verified. The company stays under Silas's control."
"You forgot one thing, Marcus," Harrison whispered.
Before Marcus could respond, the two security guards behind us moved with terrifying speed. One of them grabbed Marcus's wrist, twisting it upward with a loud, sickening crack. The gun fired into the ceiling, the suppressed bang muffled but deafening in the enclosed space. The second guard struck Marcus in the jaw, knocking him instantly unconscious to the floor.
Harrison looked back at me, his flashlight illuminating his sharp, composed face. "Are you okay?"
"I... I think so," I choked out, leaning against the steel wall. "Your guards... they knew?"
"I don't trust anyone in the Vanguard circle, Claire," Harrison explained, kicking Marcus's gun away. "My men were prepared for a betrayal. I had them simulate the power failure from our external command unit to trap Marcus before he could alert Silas's main security force downstairs."
Harrison hit a button on his radio. "Team Bravo, force open the elevator doors at Level B3. We are coming out."
With a loud screech of tearing metal, the elevator doors were pried open from the outside by Harrison's tactical team. We scrambled out into the cold, industrial basement of the Vanguard Tower. The air smelled of concrete and ozone.
"The medical vault is down that corridor," Harrison said, pointing toward a massive steel door reinforced with biometric scanners. "But we have a time limit. Silas's men will realize Marcus failed within minutes. And Ethan's vitals are dropping."
My tablet buzzed in my bag. It was a direct feed from the medical jet's doctor. I looked at the screen and felt a cold dread wash over me. Ethan's heart rate was spiking into dangerous arrhythmia. The doctor's voice note text read: *He has less than an hour. If we don't get the valve now, his heart will give out.*
"We need to move!" I screamed, running toward the vault.
We reached the massive steel door. The screen flickered to life: *VANGUARD MEDICAL VAULT - CLOSED SYSTEM. BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED.*
"Claire, place your hand on the scanner," Harrison instructed.
I pressed my right palm against the cold glass plate. A red laser line traveled down my skin. *ANALYZING DNA... PROFILE MATCH: VANGUARD, CLAIRE (PRIMARY HEIR).*
A second prompt appeared: *SECONDARY AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED: CEO OR SECONDARY HEIR.*
"Silas's bypass code or his biometric data is needed," one of the guards said, checking his tactical screen. "We can't hack this from the outside; it's an air-gapped system."
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Suddenly, the heavy double doors at the end of the corridor blew open. A flashbang grenade detonated, filling the hallway with blinding light and a deafening roar. Silas Vanguard walked through the smoke, flanked by a dozen heavily armed private security guards.
"You're too late, Claire," Silas shouted, a sadistic smile on his face as his men raised their weapons. "You'll never get inside that vault. And your little brother is going to die tonight."
