Chapter 6 - The Flames
Matthias looked at me with wide, completely panicked eyes.
"Serena, please help me!" my husband begged, his voice cracking hysterically.
Fiona smiled, the bright red light of the flare casting demonic shadows across her beautiful face.
"Your father-in-law hired me to plant the explosives, Serena," Fiona explained smoothly.
"But Arthur didn't want his precious son to survive and inherit nothing."
She took a step closer to Matthias, the flare hissing aggressively in the quiet kitchen.
"Arthur ordered me to burn Matthias alive to make the tragedy look authentic."
Matthias sobbed, falling to his knees on the expensive tile floor.
"I didn't know he was going to kill you, Serena, I swear!" Matthias cried.
I looked at the pathetic man I had married, realizing I felt absolutely nothing for him anymore.
"You locked me in the basement to die, Matthias," I said coldly, raising the gun.
"Fiona, drop the flare right now," I ordered, aiming directly at her chest.
Fiona laughed, a sharp, humorless sound.
"If you shoot me, I drop the flare, and your husband burns to death," she challenged.
"If I don't shoot you, you drop the flare anyway," I reasoned logically.
Fiona's smile completely vanished.
Before she could react, I shifted my aim slightly and fired a single shot.
The bullet struck the fire suppression sprinkler head directly above Fiona.
Instantly, highly pressurized chemical foam and freezing water blasted down from the ceiling.
Fiona screamed as the foam completely extinguished the flare and blinded her.
Matthias slipped on the wet floor, desperately trying to crawl away.
I stepped out of the elevator and struck Fiona hard across the jaw with the butt of the gun.
She collapsed into the chemical foam, completely incapacitated.
"Get up," I ordered Matthias, kicking his leg.
"We have exactly fourteen minutes before the basement explodes."
He scrambled to his feet, coughing violently from the chemical fumes.
"The override panel is in the main foyer," he gasped, wiping his eyes.
"It requires a biometric hand scan from a direct Dre family member."
We ran through the dining room, ignoring the terrified screams of the guests trapped in the ballroom.
We reached the front foyer, where the glowing red security panel was mounted near the steel shutters.
"Scan your hand," I commanded him, keeping the gun raised.
Matthias pressed his trembling palm against the glass scanner.
May you like
The panel beeped aggressively, flashing a bright red error message.
Access Denied: Biometric Profile Revoked.
