Chapter 17 - The Trap
The underground parking garage of Cole Industries was eerily silent at 3:00 AM.
Marcus used his executive clearance badge to bypass the primary security checkpoints. We left Sophia sleeping safely hidden in the trunk of his reinforced car. We crept through the dark, concrete corridors until we reached the massive steel door of Arthur Cole's private vault.
Marcus rapidly typed a complex code into the keypad. The heavy door hissed open, revealing rows of secure safety deposit boxes. We quickly located Box 404, the same number as the shipping container where Sophia was held hostage months ago. Marcus pried it open and pulled out a glowing silver USB drive.
"We have it," Marcus whispered, a victorious smile crossing his face. "This is the nail in my father's coffin."
Suddenly, the blinding fluorescent emergency lights flared to life.
We spun around to see three heavily armed fixers blocking the only exit to the vault. Behind them stood Arthur Cole himself, looking absolutely furious in a sharp tailored suit.
"Did you really think I wouldn't monitor my own vault, Marcus?" Arthur sneered, stepping forward. He looked at me with cold, dead eyes. "You should have just taken my son's money and lived quietly, Elena. Now, you and my treacherous son are going to disappear."
The lead assassin raised his silenced weapon, aiming it directly at my chest. I closed my eyes, bracing for the fatal impact.
A loud, violent crash echoed through the garage. A sleek sports car smashed through the security barrier, slamming directly into two of the armed fixers.
The car door flew open, and Nathan stepped out.
"Leave her alone, Dad!" Nathan yelled, pulling a handgun from his jacket.
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The remaining assassin instantly pivoted and fired. Nathan dove forward, throwing his body forcefully in front of me just as the gun went off.
A deafening gunshot echoed in the vault. Nathan gasped, his eyes going wide as the lethal bullet struck him right in the chest. He collapsed backward onto the cold concrete floor, shielding me completely from the line of fire.
