Chapter 12 - THE BALLROOM OF FIRE
Claire fell against the altar.
The memory card landed beside the candle instead of inside the flame.
Sofia grabbed it.
Nathan fired again.
Dominic slammed into him.
The two men crashed through the hidden door behind the altar.
They fell down the stone steps into the crypt.
Above them, gunfire filled the cathedral.
Daniel reached Mia and cut her restraints.
“Take Harper through the south tunnel.”
Mia looked toward Claire.
Blood spread across the front of her dress.
“She needs help.”
Claire laughed weakly.
“After everything I did?”
Mia pressed both hands against the wound.
“You do not get to decide who deserves to live.”
Sofia crawled toward them.
“The bullet passed through.”
“She has a chance.”
A deep mechanical sound vibrated beneath the floor.
Sofia looked toward the explosive diagrams.
“He started the sequence.”
Red numbers appeared on the crypt monitors.
Eight minutes.
The devices were not only beneath the cathedral.
Similar signals flashed beneath the Vale estate and two waterfront warehouses.
Nathan had connected them to one system.
If the cathedral device detonated, the others would follow.
Daniel spoke into his radio.
“Evacuate the estate.”
No answer came.
The signal was blocked.
Mia looked at Harper.
“Can you remember a message for me?”
The child nodded through her tears.
“Tell Mr. Daniel the red wire goes home.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Mia pointed toward Nathan’s diagram.
The main detonation line was labeled in red.
It returned through a private network at the estate.
The cellar beneath Dominic’s house contained the master relay.
The betrayal had been buried there from the beginning.
Daniel understood.
“If we cut the relay, the other bombs will not detonate.”
“How long to reach the estate?” Sofia asked.
“Twenty minutes.”
The countdown showed seven.
Claire struggled to speak.
“There is a tunnel.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Beneath the crypt.”
“It connects to the old subway service line.”
“Nathan built a high-speed route to the estate.”
“Why?” Daniel asked.
“For moving weapons.”
“Where is the entrance?”
Claire pointed toward an iron cross mounted on the wall.
Daniel pulled it.
A section of stone opened.
Cold air rushed through the passage.
Mia lifted Harper.
Daniel carried Claire.
Sofia followed.
Below them, Dominic and Nathan fought through the crypt.
Nathan slammed Dominic against a stone pillar.
“You never deserved what you inherited,” Nathan said.
“I earned every man who chose me.”
“You bought frightened men.”
“I built loyalty.”
“You built fear.”
Nathan smiled.
“Fear lasts longer.”
He triggered a second timer on his watch.
The cathedral countdown dropped from six minutes to ninety seconds.
Dominic saw the change.
Nathan backed toward the tunnel entrance.
“You can chase me.”
“Or you can save the women.”
He threw a smoke canister onto the floor.
The crypt disappeared behind white clouds.
Dominic heard Nathan running.
Then Harper screamed from the passage.
The tunnel door had slammed shut.
May you like
The lock engaged.
Fire began pouring through vents beneath the crypt floor.
