Chapter 8 - The Trap Springs Early
The clock in the grand hallway struck midnight, plunging the Ravensworth estate into a deep, deceptive slumber.
Down in the sub-basement tunnels, however, there was no sleep.
Nora Vasquez moved through the dark, damp brick corridor like a phantom, her tactical flashlight wrapped in dark cloth to cast only a narrow, pinpoint beam. She wore her full tactical gear, her combat boots making zero sound against the concrete floor.
Theo’s hand-drawn map had guided her precisely beneath the main library floorboards, right up to the heavy steel ventilation grate overlooking Damon Cross’s private walk-in safe room.
Through the grated iron slats, the scene below was unfolding exactly as Nora had overheard in the tunnels two nights prior.
Damon Cross sat bound tightly to a heavy oak chair in the center of the reinforced safe room, ropes cutting deep into his broad shoulders. Standing over him with a cold, triumphant smirk was Victor Vance, flanked by two heavy-set corporate security guards holding silenced sidearms.
"I have to hand it to you, Damon," Victor sneered, pacing around the chair like a vulture circling a dying animal. "You built an empire out of blood, sweat, and iron. But you got old. You started trusting the wrong people, and you refused to let go of the past. The analog ledgers in this safe contain every name, every shell company, and every offshore account that keeps Cross Enterprises afloat. Once you sign over the digital transfer codes and the physical key to this safe, we'll make your passing look like a tragic stroke."
Damon raised his head, blood trickling from a small cut above his left eyebrow, his gray eyes burning with an unquenchable, lethal fire. "You think you're the first rat to try and chew through my ship, Victor? I built this empire with my bare hands. Men like you only know how to steal what stronger men carved out of stone."
"Call me whatever you want, Damon," Victor laughed coldly, pulling a heavy silver keycard from his pocket. "History is written by the survivors. And tomorrow morning, the federal authorities are going to find your body buried beneath the ashes of a burned estate, along with all your precious evidence."
Victor turned toward the heavy steel combination dial of the safe door, stepping directly in front of the wall-mounted security keypad to punch in the override code.
Above them in the dark ventilation shaft, Nora smiled grimly.
May you like
She reached into her belt holster, pulled out a small, heavy-duty breaching charge, and attached it silently to the corner of the iron grate. With a quick, silent twist of her wrist, she armed the remote detonator.
Three. Two. One.
