Chapter 6 - The Glass House
"Nolan... he's here," Emma whispered, her voice barely audible as she stepped away from the window.
"Emma, listen to me," Nolan’s voice was sharp, commanding. "Do not go out the front door. Is the upload complete?"
Emma looked back at the monitor screen. The green progress bar was stuck at 88%.
UPLOADING ENCRYPTED EVIDENCE... 88% COMPLETE.
"It needs ninety seconds!" Emma gasped.
"Hit the local network sync," Nolan instructed quickly. "Send the remaining payload to the Sentinel master server! If it reaches the corporate cloud, it bypasses the residential firewall!"
Emma’s fingers flew across the keyboard, executing the command just as the heavy wooden front door downstairs was kicked open with a shattering crash.
BANG!
"Emma!" Grant’s voice roared from the foyer below—no longer the calm, polite husband, but a raging monster stripped of his mask. "Where is he?!"
Emma slammed the ENTER key.
UPLOADING TO SENTINEL CLOUD... 94%... 98%... COMPLETE.
TRANSMISSION SUCCESSFUL.
Emma snatched the USB drive from the port, shoved it into her pocket, and bolted out of the office just as Grant came storming up the stairs, two steps at a time.
They met at the top of the landing.
Grant stopped, breathing heavily, his eyes wild and bloodshot. He looked at Emma, then looked past her into his open office, seeing his unlocked computer terminal and the open wall safe.
"You," Grant breathed, a sick, disbelieving laugh escaping his lips. "It was you. You were the custodial temp in the morgue last night."
Emma backed away slowly toward the master bedroom, keeping her eyes fixed on the iron bar in his hand. "Stay away from me, Grant."
"I gave you everything, Emma!" Grant snarled, stepping forward, his knuckles white around the iron bar. "A life, a beautiful home, security! And you side with a dying old man who didn't even know your name?!"
"You poisoned him, Grant!" Emma yelled back, her voice echoing through the high ceilings. "You set up a system to murder hospital patients for money! You're insane!"
"I'm practical!" Grant screamed, lunging forward with terrifying speed.
He swung the iron bar down toward her head. Emma ducked to the left, the heavy metal smashing into the drywall with a blinding crack, sending plaster dust exploding into the air.
Emma scrambled into the master bedroom, slamming the heavy oak door and turning the lock.
Grant threw his weight against the door panel. BOOM! The wood groaned under the impact.
"You can't hide in there, Emma!" Grant yelled from the hallway. "Dr. Marsh is already wiping the local medical servers! Nobody is going to believe a word you say!"
Emma looked around the room frantically. The second-story window led out onto the steep pitched roof above the garage.
She grabbed a heavy bronze statue from the nightstand, swung it with all her strength against the windowpane, shattering the glass into a hundred sparkling shards.
May you like
Grant kicked through the bedroom door lock, the wood splintering inward as he stepped into the room, his eyes dark with murderous intent.
Emma turned, climbed onto the window ledge, and jumped out into the pouring rain.
