Chapter 10 - The Vault’s Trap
Adrian spun around instantly, raising his weapon toward the tunnel entrance as Director Vance stepped into the dim light of the underground chamber.
Vance wasn't alone. Two more operatives flanked him, their weapons raised and trained directly on Adrian’s chest. Vance’s suit was slightly dust-stained from the maintenance shaft, but his smile was as sharp and poisonous as ever.
“Put the gun down, Mr. Blackwood,” Vance purred, walking slowly toward the vault entrance with his suppressed pistol held loosely in his hand. “You’ve played a magnificent game of corporate defense, but the board meeting adjourned the moment you stepped down these stairs.”
Adrian didn't lower his weapon by a millimeter. “You’re standing in a private federal archive, Vance. Every word you say right now is being recorded and transmitted directly to the Department of Justice secure servers.”
Vance laughed—a dry, barking sound that echoed harshly off the stone walls. “Do you honestly believe the DOJ cares about a bankrupt logistics firm from ten years ago? The current administration is rewriting trade policies with Vanguard by the end of the week. Your little recording won't see the light of day.”
Inside the vault, Emma stood frozen by the glass display case. Her eyes darted from Vance to the heavy iron door, her mind calculating the odds. She knew Adrian couldn't fight three armed operatives in the narrow corridor without taking a fatal hit.
She needed to buy time.
Slowly, silently, Emma reached out and picked up the thick leather-bound master ledger from the central display case. As she lifted the cover, her eyes fell upon a handwritten sticky note attached to the first page, scrawled in her father’s familiar handwriting:
If the primary seal is breached under duress, engage the secondary bedrock purge switch located behind the inner console.
Emma’s breath hitched. She looked toward the back of the vault room, where a small, recessed panel bearing a heavy red toggle switch sat half-hidden behind a stack of archive boxes.
Vance took another step toward the threshold, raising his gun to level it directly at Adrian’s head. “End of the line, Blackwood. Drop the weapon, or I’ll execute you right here and let the girl watch before she joins her father.”
Adrian tensed, his finger tightening on the trigger, ready to make a desperate, lethal move.
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At that exact second, Emma’s hand slammed down onto the red toggle switch behind the archive console.
A deep, subterranean rumble shook the entire foundation of the estate. The heavy iron vault door suddenly lurked on its hinges, its automated emergency locks snapping shut with a thunderous roar, trapping Vance and his men in a blinding cloud of dust as the heavy steel plates descended to seal them inside forever.
