For two years, my husband’s family treated me like an unpaid maid because

The Halon gas rapidly filled the small server room, creating a suffocating white fog.

My lungs immediately began to burn as the oxygen was violently purged from the air.

I coughed uncontrollably, dropping to the floor where the remaining pockets of breathable air lingered.

Evan had played his pathetic, cowardly role perfectly, lulling me into a false sense of security.

He had locked me inside the very system I had just sacrificed everything to protect.

I pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth, desperately scanning the room for any potential weakness.

The heavy steel door was magnetically sealed and entirely impenetrable without a high level clearance card.

The digital keypad on the inside of the door was covered by a thick polycarbonate shield.

I had less than two minutes before complete asphyxiation claimed my life.

I remembered the heavy black challenge coin resting securely in my pocket.

I pulled the solid metal object out, the edge sharpened from years of carrying it on deployments.

I stood up, ignoring the dizziness threatening to drop me back to the floor.

I gripped the coin tightly and smashed it repeatedly against the corner of the polycarbonate shield.

The plastic finally cracked, splintering away to reveal the exposed circuitry of the keypad.

My vision began to fade into blackness, and my knees violently buckled under my own weight.

I used the metal edge of the coin to violently short circuit the exposed wires.

Sparks showered over my hands as the electronic lock shorted out completely.

The magnetic seal released with a loud, mechanical clank.

I threw my entire body weight against the heavy steel door, pushing it wide open.

I collapsed onto the floor of the hallway, gasping desperately for the clean, cool air.

I lay there for a moment, letting the oxygen slowly revive my failing senses.

I pushed myself up to my feet, my muscles aching with pure exhaustion and adrenaline.

I walked down the long corridor toward the main exit of the command center.

Evan was standing near the front desk, frantically typing on a security terminal to erase the camera footage.

He turned around and completely froze when he saw me standing there alive.

I did not say a single word to the man who had just tried to murder me.

I walked forward, raised the pistol he had foolishly given me, and struck him squarely across the jaw.

Evan collapsed into an unconscious heap on the polished floor.

I stepped over his body and pushed the front doors open.

The entire courtyard was currently swarming with heavily armed military police and federal agents.

Captain Miller was standing in the center of the chaos, pointing directly at me.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

"Arrest her immediately for treason and attempted sabotage," Miller ordered his men.

A dozen assault rifles were instantly aimed directly at my chest.

Chapter 9 - The Last Breath