Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Truth
The emergency red lights flashed aggressively across Charles's face.
"Security will be down here in exactly three minutes," I warned him loudly over the sirens.
"My private security team replaced your guards an hour ago," Charles laughed.
He took another step forward, cornering Maya and me against the back wall of safety deposit boxes.
"Adrian warned me that you were dangerous, but I never believed him," I said, desperate to buy time.
"Adrian is currently drinking a very special cup of water in his holding cell," Charles revealed casually.
My blood ran completely cold at his words.
"You poisoned him," I gasped.
"He knew too much about the forged will, so he had to be eliminated," Charles shrugged.
He aimed the gun directly at Maya's forehead.
"Now I am going to kill the true heir, and I will tell the police that you did it in a fit of madness," Charles explained.
Maya squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the fatal impact.
Suddenly, a loud hissing sound erupted from the ventilation shafts above us.
Thick, white smoke began pouring into the sealed vault at an alarming rate.
Charles coughed violently, stepping back and waving his hand in front of his face.
"What is this?" he shouted in confusion.
"My father did not trust anyone, Charles, not even the people he hired to build this vault," I shouted back.
The smoke was a highly concentrated tear gas designed to neutralize intruders during a lockdown.
I pulled a silk handkerchief from my gown, tore it in half, and handed a piece to Maya.
We covered our mouths and dropped flat onto the cold floor where the air was still clear.
Charles fired a wild, panicked shot into the thick smoke.
The bullet shattered a glass display case, but it completely missed us.
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He dropped to his knees, choking and dropping the gun as the gas overwhelmed him.
Just as Charles lost consciousness, the titanium doors slowly hissed open.
