Chapter 3 - The Auditor's Weapon
Julian froze as the sound of panicked screams erupted from the wedding reception just down the hall.
I clutched my phone tightly to my chest, realizing that I still had access to the vineyard's internal network.
Before Julian had entered the room, I had accessed the estate's smart-building controls through a backdoor in the financial software.
I had intentionally triggered the industrial fire suppression system in the main ballroom.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Julian yelled, turning his back on me to look down the corridor.
Thousands of gallons of foul-smelling, pressurized chemical foam were currently raining down on three hundred elite guests.
"Sir, the main servers have been overridden," one of the guards shouted over the blaring emergency alarms.
I used the momentary distraction to pull a heavy, solid brass soap dispenser from the marble counter.
I swung it upward with every ounce of remaining strength I had, smashing it directly into the side of the closest guard's knee.
The man roared in agony and collapsed to the floor, clutching his shattered kneecap.
I scrambled past him, dragging myself into the flooded service corridor as cold water began rapidly pooling around my ankles.
"Grab her!" Julian ordered, pulling a silver handgun from the inside pocket of his tuxedo.
I limped as fast as I could toward the kitchen service doors, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the soaked marble.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from a dark alcove and violently yanked me into the shadows.
A hand clamped tightly over my mouth to stifle my scream.
I looked up into the terrified, pale face of my husband, Evan.
"You are going to get us both killed, Claire," Evan hissed, his eyes darting frantically toward Julian's approaching men.
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He raised a heavy iron catering wrench in his right hand, but he did not point it toward the approaching guards.
He aimed it directly at my head.
