Chapter 4 - The Shattered Mirror
Ethan kicked the reinforced door with all his weight. The heavy latch gave way with a deafening crack, slamming the door wide open.
"Get down!" Samuel roared, firing two quick shots that took out the two armed guards before they could raise their weapons.
Julian Sterling spun around in terror, aiming his gun toward the door, but Ethan closed the distance in a heartbeat. Ethan grabbed Julian’s wrist, twisting it violently until the gun clattered to the floor, then delivered a sharp right hook that sent Julian crashing into a tray of medical instruments.
Victoria screamed, staggering back against the wall, clutching the leather document case to her chest like a shield.
"Ethan!" she gasped, her eyes wide with terror as she looked at him. "How did you find this place?"
Ethan didn't answer her. His eyes were entirely fixed on the gurney in the center of the room.
He walked over slowly, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch the face of the woman he had mourned for nine long years. The skin of her cheek was cool, fragile like thin porcelain.
"Olivia?" Ethan’s voice cracked, tears rising in his eyes.
The woman on the gurney stirred slightly. Her eyelids fluttered open, her dark eyes cloudy and unfocused from years of forced sedation. She looked up at him, her lips moving without making a sound.
"Eth... an?" she whispered, her voice raspy and broken from years of disuse.
Ethan fell to his knees beside the gurney, burying his face in his hands as heavy sobs tore through his chest. "I’m here. I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry I didn't find you sooner."
"How touching," Victoria’s cold voice cut through the emotional moment.
Ethan stood up slowly, turning to face her. His tears dried instantly, replaced by a cold, lethal fury. "It’s over, Victoria. Sam has secured the building. Your brother is unconscious on the floor, and your guards are neutralized."
Victoria let out a bitter, desperate laugh. She backed up against a control panel on the far wall. "Do you really think it’s that simple, Ethan? Do you think I did this alone?"
"I know about the Sterling Trust," Ethan said, taking a step toward her. "I know you kept her alive to hold onto the land rights."
"You know nothing!" Victoria shouted, her hand reaching behind her back toward a bright red box mounted on the wall. "My father didn't just hide land deeds, Ethan! He hid the fact that your father—the great, honorable Richard Vance—was the one who helped set up the offshore accounts in the first place!"
Ethan froze. "What?"
"Your family empire was built on the exact same stolen wealth!" Victoria sneered, her finger hovering over a glass-covered toggle switch on the red box. "If this file goes public, your company dies with mine! You'll lose Vance Manor, your stock, your reputation—everything!"
"My father is dead," Ethan said coldly. "And I don't care about the company. I care about my family."
"Then you can burn with them!" Victoria screamed, slamming her hand through the glass plate and pulling the red switch down.
An alarm blared instantly throughout the facility, high-pitched and deafening. Red emergency lights began flashing across the ceiling.
"WARNING: SYSTEM OVERRIDE INITIATED. CONTAINMENT FLUSH IN THREE MINUTES."
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Samuel swore loudly. "She triggered the facility's chemical suppression system! They’re going to flood the basement rooms with industrial fire suppressant gas!"
Victoria laughed hysterically as heavy iron blast doors began descending from the ceiling, sealing the exit routes one by one. "Nobody leaves this room alive, Ethan! Nobody!"
