Chapter 6 - The Flames of Betrayal
The red digital numbers ticked down to exactly ten seconds.
Julian looked deeply into my eyes, silently asking for my complete and total trust.
I nodded once, wrapping my arms tightly around Brandon to shield him with my own body.
Julian sliced cleanly through the blue wire with absolute precision.
The bright red timer froze permanently at three seconds, plunging the room into a heavy, suffocating silence.
I sobbed uncontrollably, tearing the heavy vest off my son and pulling him into a desperate embrace.
Emma ran over to us, burying her tear-stained face into my leg as I held both of my children tightly.
Julian turned back toward Marcus, who was bleeding heavily on the floor and crawling toward the exit.
"Who else is working for Victoria inside my company?" Julian demanded, pressing his boot onto the mercenary's wounded shoulder.
Marcus groaned in pain, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the dusty concrete.
"You are a fool, Julian, Victoria does not want the company," Marcus gasped out.
"She wants the offshore accounts your father hid in Switzerland before he died," the bleeding man revealed.
Julian's eyes widened as he finally understood the true motive behind the assassination attempt.
"Only you have the biometric access codes, which is why she only paralyzed you instead of killing you," Marcus laughed weakly.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the opposite end of the warehouse.
Victoria had placed secondary incendiary charges around the perimeter to ensure no one survived the rescue attempt.
Thick, toxic black smoke began to fill the building rapidly, choking the air from our lungs.
"We have to get to the roof immediately!" Julian shouted, scooping Emma into his strong arms.
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I carried Brandon, coughing violently as we ran toward the rusted metal staircase leading to the upper catwalk.
Just as we reached the first landing, the entire ground floor erupted into a massive sea of blinding fire.
