Chapter 4 - TEN MINUTES
Tessa didn't panic.
That surprised her.
Fear arrived, but her training arrived first.
“Where is the foundation access?”
Damon looked at her.
“You believe this?”
“I believe someone has already disabled security.”
Clara nodded.
“She’s right.”
Tessa grabbed the original renovation plans from the conference table.
“Everyone thinks old buildings are held together by walls.”
She spread the plans.
“They aren't.”
Damon leaned over.
“Then what?”
“Load paths.”
She pointed.
“The Alder Crown was built in 1928. It was modified twice. The second modification added a hidden service level.”
“Where?”
Tessa traced a line.
“Here.”
Damon frowned.
“That’s the ballroom.”
“No.”
She rotated the plan.
“The vault would be underneath the ballroom.”
Clara whispered,
“That's where my father said it was.”
Damon looked at her.
“Your father?”
“He was an engineer on the original project.”
Tessa stood.
“We have eight minutes.”
They ran.
The ballroom had been evacuated.
Tables stood abandoned beneath chandeliers.
Tessa crossed toward the center.
“Here.”
She tapped the marble floor.
Damon looked around.
“There’s nothing.”
“There shouldn't be.”
She crouched.
“Help me move this.”
Together they shifted a heavy decorative table.
Underneath was a circular brass plate.
Tessa smiled.
“Found it.”
Damon knelt.
“No key.”
Clara pulled a small metal object from her pocket.
“Try this.”
Tessa stared.
“You've had that the entire time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you say anything?”
“Because Damon would have stopped me.”
Damon sighed.
“She's right.”
The key turned.
A section of marble clicked.
The floor opened.
Cold air rose from below.
Damon took a flashlight.
“I'll go first.”
Tessa grabbed his sleeve.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You don't know what's down there.”
“Neither do you.”
“I can protect you.”
“I don't need protecting.”
A faint smile appeared.
“I know.”
They descended.
The staircase was narrow.
Old.
Dust covered everything.
At the bottom stood a steel door.
On it was a symbol.
A V inside a circle.
Damon stared.
“My father's mark.”
The door opened.
Inside were shelves.
Boxes.
Photographs.
Contracts.
Blueprints.
Hard drives.
Tessa stepped forward.
“Everything.”
Clara whispered,
“Not everything.”
She pointed to an empty shelf.
“One box is missing.”
Damon found a photograph.
His father stood beside two teenage boys.
Damon.
Adrian.
And a third person.
Tessa recognized him immediately.
“Marcus Bell.”
Damon stared.
Marcus had been his father's chief engineer.
Tessa turned another photograph over.
A handwritten date.
Three months before Meridian.
Damon's voice was quiet.
“My father knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That someone was sabotaging the company.”
Clara found a ledger.
“Look.”
Names filled the pages.
Payments.
Shell companies.
Political donations.
Engineering contracts.
Damon's expression hardened.
“This is enough to destroy half the people in that ballroom.”
“Maybe that's the point,” Tessa said.
A sound came from above.
Footsteps.
They all froze.
Someone had entered the ballroom.
Damon extinguished the flashlight.
Voices drifted down.
“Check the vault.”
Another voice answered.
“He's already inside.”
Damon looked at Tessa.
They were trapped.
Then a third voice spoke.
“Kill the lights.”
Everything went black.
Tessa felt Damon grab her hand.
Not her wrist.
Her hand.
“Stay with me.”
The vault door began opening.
A silhouette appeared.
Tessa held her breath.
The person stepped inside.
A flashlight swept across the room.
Then stopped on Damon.
“Hello, brother.”
Adrian Vale lowered the light.
Tessa finally saw his face.
He looked almost exactly like Damon.
Except for the eyes.
Damon whispered,
“Adrian.”
Adrian smiled.
“You finally came looking for the truth.”
“You sent the messages.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened the hotel.”
“No.”
Adrian's smile vanished.
“I warned you.”
“About what?”
Adrian looked at Tessa.
“About the bomb.”
Her blood turned cold.
Damon moved instantly.
“Where?”
Adrian pointed upward.
“Under the ballroom.”
Tessa whispered,
“How much time?”
Adrian checked his watch.
“Four minutes.”
Then he looked at Damon.
“And this time, brother…”
May you like
His expression hardened.
“I won't save you twice.”
