Chapter 4 - The Descending Cage
The service elevator moved downward with a low, mechanical hum, plunging the three of them into the concrete bowels beneath the skyscraper. The air was cool and smelled faintly of ozone and motor oil. Clara stood pressed against the stainless-steel wall, cradling Lily against her chest with one arm while her other hand gripped the edge of her beige cardigan. Julian stood directly in front of her, his broad shoulders blocking any possible view, his fingers absently turning the silver rings on his left hand.
"Where are we going?" Clara asked, her voice trembling slightly in the confined space. "Running from the police is only going to make this look ten times worse."
"We're not running from the law," Julian replied without turning around. "We're going to my secondary office. The local precinct is currently on Victoria’s payroll. If we go downtown, you'll be locked away before sunrise and the real thief will walk free."
"How can you be so sure someone planted it?" Clara asked, staring at the broad expanse of his black shirt.
Julian turned his head slightly, the harsh fluorescent light catching the jagged white scar that traced from his cheek down to his jawline. "Because that ring was locked in a biometric safe behind my office desk. The only two people in the world with the thumbprint override are me and my deceased wife." He paused, his jaw tightening. "And my wife has been dead for fourteen months."
Clara’s breath hitched. The implication hung in the heavy air like a physical weight. "You think someone faked the biometric data?"
"I think someone is trying to frame you to get me distracted," Julian said, his eyes locking onto hers as the elevator chimed and the heavy metal doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit underground parking garage.
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As they stepped out onto the damp concrete, a pair of headlights suddenly flashed to life twenty feet away, blinding them with a harsh, high-beam glare. A sleek black SUV idled in the shadows, its engine rumbling with suppressed power.
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