Chapter 5 - The Unexpected Ally
Marta collapsed to the floor, dropping Lily instantly.
I broke free from the stunned mercenary and dove to catch my daughter.
I shielded her body with my own as chaos erupted in the small room.
Marcus used the distraction to tackle the mercenary closest to him.
More gunfire echoed from the hallway, deafening in the confined space.
The second mercenary turned toward the door, raising his weapon.
Before he could fire, he was shot twice in the chest and crumpled to the ground.
A tall figure stepped over the bodies in the doorway, lowering a smoking pistol.
It was Vanessa.
She was wearing her cream wool coat, but it was now splattered with blood.
"Vanessa?" Marcus gasped, pushing the unconscious mercenary off his legs.
She ignored him, rushing over to me and Lily to check if we were hurt.
"Are you okay?" she asked frantically, her eyes wide with genuine concern.
I shrank away from her, completely terrified and confused.
"You stole my phone," I accused her, my voice trembling.
Vanessa nodded quickly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I had to steal it to send a silent SOS to the police without Marta seeing me," she explained.
Marcus stared at his fiancée in absolute disbelief.
"You didn't hire these men?" he asked.
"Marta has been blacking out the security feeds for weeks," Vanessa cried.
"She threatened to kill me if I told you about her plan to rob the vault."
Vanessa reached out a shaking hand to Marcus.
"I was trying to save you, Marcus, I swear," she sobbed.
Marcus slowly lowered his weapon, his expression softening with regret.
He walked over and pulled Vanessa into a tight, forgiving embrace.
I sat on the floor, holding Lily, finally feeling a wave of relief wash over me.
But as Vanessa hugged Marcus, her eyes met mine over his shoulder.
May you like
Her tearful expression vanished instantly.
She gave me a cold, dead smile, and I realized with absolute horror that she was lying.
