Chapter 2 - The Silent Signal
The entire cathedral plunged into absolute chaos as the guests realized they were completely surrounded by heavily armed men.
Women screamed in terror, clutching their designer purses as they dove beneath the antique wooden pews for safety.
Adrian smiled warmly, his charming public persona completely vanishing to reveal the cold psychopath hiding underneath.
He casually informed the terrified crowd that this was simply a private family matter and that nobody needed to get hurt.
I raised my voice over the panic, instructing the guests to pull out their cell phones and immediately scan the codes printed on my suit.
Dozens of brave reporters and business executives raised their devices, desperate to capture the damning financial evidence.
Celeste shrieked from the front row, ordering the armed mercenaries to confiscate every single phone in the building.
A massive security guard lunged toward me, his hands reaching aggressively for the collar of my evidence-covered suit.
The federal agent who had entered with Elena quickly stepped in front of me, drawing his service weapon to protect me.
He bravely ordered the mercenaries to stand down, loudly declaring that Adrian was officially under federal investigation.
Adrian simply laughed, a dry and hollow sound that echoed terrifyingly against the high vaulted ceilings of the church.
He pulled a small electronic remote from his tuxedo pocket and pressed a single red button.
The federal agent grabbed his tactical radio to call for emergency backup, but only harsh static blasted from the speaker.
Everyone in the church stared at their cellular devices in pure horror as all the signal bars dropped to absolute zero.
Adrian proudly announced that he had activated a military-grade signal jammer hidden deep within the church walls.
He smoothly pulled a silver handgun from his waistband and aimed it directly at my chest.
He demanded that I hand over the master physical drive containing the original ledgers, or he would start executing the guests one by one.
I reached slowly into my pocket, pretending to search for the small device he desperately wanted.
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My fingers brushed against a small, hidden switch sewn into the lining of my jacket.
I pressed the hidden switch, activating a dead-man trigger that I hoped would bypass his local jamming equipment entirely.
