Chapter 8
The crimson emergency lights pulsed erratically, painting the server racks and the damp concrete walls in sweeping strokes of blood-red. The ear-piercing siren reverberated inside the enclosed vault, rattling the fillings in their teeth and making clear communication nearly impossible.
Director Sterling immediately stood up, barking orders into his shoulder-mounted radio.
“Status report! What triggered the secondary lockdown?” Sterling demanded, his voice strained against the deafening howl of the siren.
A nervous voice crackled back through the static of the radio. “Director! We’ve got an incoming override from the main estate terminal upstairs! Someone with high-level clearance is remotely wiping the secondary financial servers!”
Clara helped the medical team ease her father onto the stretcher, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked up at Sterling, her mind racing to connect the pieces.
“Julian doesn’t have access to the remote terminal from the holding cell,” Clara shouted over the siren, her dark eyes flashing with sudden realization. “He has an accomplice! Someone still inside the estate!”
Sterling’s eyes narrowed into hard slits. “Marcus and Hayes.”
Arthur Sterling clutched weakly at the edge of the stretcher, his frail fingers digging into the fabric of the blanket.
“The… the physical ledger…” Arthur wheezed, coughing harshly before continuing. “It’s locked in the wall safe behind my study desk upstairs. If they wipe the servers before we secure that ledger, the digital trail vanishes forever.”
Sterling didn’t hesitate. He turned to two of his tactical agents, pointing sharply toward the exit.
“Secure the study immediately! Do not let anyone touch the primary terminal or the wall safe! Use lethal force if necessary!”
The agents nodded crisply and bolted out of the vault, their combat boots pounding against the concrete floor as they raced back toward the surface. Sterling turned his attention back to Clara and the medical crew wheeling her father out toward the freight elevator.
“Clara, stay with your father. Make sure the medics get him straight to the federal medical unit,” Sterling ordered firmly.
“No,” Clara replied, her voice dropping into that same terrifying, unyielding timber that had stunned Julian in the dining room. She stood tall, wiping a smudge of soot from her cheek. “I’m coming with you. This is my family’s legacy, and I am going to watch it reclaimed to the very last page.”
Sterling stared at her for a brief second, recognizing the fierce, unbreakable resolve in her eyes, and gave a sharp nod.
May you like
“Stay behind me,” Sterling instructed, drawing his weapon as they rushed toward the elevator shaft.
They piled into the freight cage, the heavy metal gates slamming shut as the lift began its rapid, mechanical ascent toward the main floor of the Elm Terrace estate, completely unaware of the deadly trap waiting for them at the top.
