Chapter 9 - The Countdown
A deafening roar ripped through the warehouse as the explosive charge detonated near the far wall, sending a shockwave of dust, fire, and debris raining down from the ceiling.
"Lily!" Ivy screamed, ignoring the falling rubble as she sprinted across the shaking concrete floor toward her daughter.
Daniel vaulted over a stack of burning crates, tackling Eleanor to the ground just as a massive steel beam crashed down where she had been standing seconds before. Arthur groaned in agony from the rubble, pinned beneath the wooden crates, while Eleanor thrashed helplessly under Daniel's grip.
Ivy reached Lily, tearing the duct tape from the little girl's mouth and frantically untying the ropes binding her wrists.
"Mommy!" Lily sobbed, throwing her small arms around Ivy’s neck as the second secondary charge hissed with a dangerous, high-pitched alarm.
Warning: Structural collapse imminent. T-minus thirty seconds.
"Daniel! We have to get out of here now!" Ivy yelled, lifting Lily into her arms and running toward the exit.
Daniel shoved Eleanor toward the door, his eyes fixed on the collapsing roof. "Move!" he roared.
They burst through the heavy iron doors just as the entire back half of the warehouse imploded, collapsing into a mountain of fire and twisted steel. The shockwave knocked them to the gravel driveway, sending smoke billowing into the night sky. Sirens wailed in the distance—federal marshals and police cruisers finally swarming the industrial park from every direction.
Officer Vance stepped out of the lead cruiser, his weapon drawn, but when he saw Daniel standing amidst the wreckage holding Lily, and Eleanor coughing up soot nearby, he lowered his gun.
"Mr. Vanderbilt," Vance said grimly. "We intercepted Marcus Vanderbilt fleeing toward the docks. He's in custody."
Eleanor let out a blood-curdling scream, collapsing onto her knees in the dirt. "You can't arrest us! We are Vanderbilts!"
"You're accessories to corporate sabotage, kidnapping, and attempted murder," Daniel stated coldly, walking over to stand above his mother. He looked down at her with absolute pity and disgust. "The Vanderbilt dynasty you spent your whole life protecting? It dies tonight."
As federal agents slapped industrial-strength zip-ties onto Eleanor and Arthur, dragging them toward separate squad cars, Ivy walked up beside Daniel, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Is it really over?" Ivy whispered, watching the smoke clear over the harbor.
Daniel wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead. "No, Ivy. It’s just beginning."
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Before they could turn back toward the SUV, a black unmarked sedan pulled up silently beside them. The back window rolled down, revealing a cold, aristocratic face that neither of them expected to see in New York.
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