166 "She Left Her Diamond Ring in Her Mother-in-Law's Hand at the Billion-Dollar Gala—Pregnant with Twins and Walking Away, She Let the Empire Crumble from the Inside Out"

The damp air of the tunnel felt suddenly suffocating. Emily backed up until her shoulders pressed flush against the cold iron bars of the exit grate. There was no escape route left. The digital net had tightened completely, and Camille stood before her with the cold, unyielding composure of someone who had planned every variable down to the second.

"Hand over the flash drive, Emily," Camille instructed, extending an impeccably manicured hand. "Save yourself the physical trauma. You're overdue for a medical crisis anyway; let's not make it worse for the babies."

Emily looked down at her stomach. Another sharp, localized cramp rolled through her lower abdomen, stealing the breath from her lungs. The stress, the physical exertion, the cold dampness of the tunnels—her body was beginning to mutiny. If she let them take the drive here, she and her children would vanish into a clinical, corporate-controlled void, erased from the world as if they had never existed.

Not yet, Emily told herself. Not like this.

Instead of reaching into her coat, Emily slid her hand into her side pocket and gripped her phone. With her thumb, she blindly pressed the emergency shortcut button—a pre-programmed distress sequence linked directly to Marcus Vance’s private line that broadcasted live audio and her real-time GPS coordinates.

"You really think Mason will let you get away with this?" Emily asked, stalling for time as her fingers worked blindly against the glass screen. "He might be arrogant, but he's not stupid. He knows you're using him."

Camille’s eyes flashed with a dangerous spark of irritation. "Mason is a puppet dancing on strings he can't even see. He thinks he's protecting me from you. By sunrise, he'll sign over his remaining voting shares to the board to keep his name off the federal indictment, believing it's the only way to save his company."

She gestured to the two men flanking her. "Take it."

The men stepped forward in unison.

Emily didn't wait for them to reach her. With a sudden, desperate surge of energy, she threw her entire weight forward, slamming her booted foot directly into Camille’s shin.

Camille let out a sharp cry of shock, stumbling backward and crashing hard against the damp brick wall.

"Get her!" Camille screeched, clutching her leg as fury twisted her features.

The two operatives lunged, but Emily had already dropped to her knees, sweeping her heavy leather suitcase across the concrete floor to tangle their legs. The lead man tripped over the rigid handle, crashing heavily into his partner.

Emily scrambled toward the iron grate, her fingers hooking into the rusted padlock chain, but before she could wrench it free, a heavy hand clamped down violently over her shoulder, spinning her around and slamming her back against the brick wall.