Chapter 10 - The False Sunrise
Leah dove behind the heavy leather seats and wrapped her arms protectively around the baby's bassinet.
She heard a sickening crunch, followed by a horrific scream from Marcus that echoed above the blaring alarms.
Silas violently slammed something wet and bloody against the glass of the fingerprint scanner.
The light instantly flashed a brilliant green.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The heavy reinforced door clicked loudly and slid rapidly open.
Silas burst into the cockpit, his clothes entirely covered in the guard's blood.
The compromised co-pilot was slumped unconscious over the yoke, pushing the plane into its final, fatal dive.
Silas grabbed the man by his uniform and violently threw him out of the captain's chair.
He dropped heavily into the seat, grabbed the primary controls, and pulled back with everything he had left.
The massive jet groaned loudly, the metal frame severely protesting under the extreme stress.
Through the front windshield, the jagged edge of the snowy mountain peak was terrifyingly close.
Leah squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the explosive impact that would end it all.
The engines roared to maximum capacity, vibrating the entire floorboards.
The plane shuddered violently, scraping the very top of the pine trees on the highest mountain ridge.
Then, the nose of the plane broke magnificently through the heavy cloud cover.
They were suddenly flying up.
The violent shaking stopped, and the terrifying altitude alarm finally went completely silent.
Brilliant sunlight flooded into the cabin as the plane leveled out safely in the clear morning sky.
Silas engaged the autopilot and slumped back into the captain's chair, gasping for breath.
Leah slowly stood up, her legs trembling completely out of her own control.
They were actually alive.
The explosive devices were neutralized, the assassin was bleeding out on the floor, and the plane was flying safely.
Silas walked slowly out of the cockpit, wiping blood from his hands with a white towel.
He looked at Leah, his hardened expression softening into genuine, profound gratitude.
"You saved my son's life today," Silas said quietly.
"When we land, I am going to put my entire security network at your absolute disposal."
"Nobody from the Vanguard will ever be allowed to touch you or your little sister."
Leah let out a shaky breath she felt she had been holding for four entire days.
"I just need to know the exact name of the travel agent who sent you," Silas continued, pulling out his secure phone.
"I need your mother's full name so my people can locate her immediately and bring her to safety."
"Her name is Evelyn Vance," Leah said, exhausted but finally feeling truly safe.
Silas froze completely, his thumb hovering motionless over the keypad of his phone.
He slowly lowered the device, his face draining of all color as a cold, terrifying emptiness filled his eyes.
"Evelyn Vance," Silas repeated, his voice dropping to a dead, hollow whisper.
He looked at Leah not as a brave savior, but as a ghost from his worst nightmare.
"Evelyn Vance is not a travel agent, Leah."
Silas reached down and slowly picked up his loaded handgun from the bloody floor.
"Your mother is the assassin who murdered my wife."
May you like
He raised the heavy weapon and pointed it directly at the center of the ten-year-old girl's chest.
"And I swore to God I would wipe her entire bloodline off the face of the earth."
