Chapter 7 – THE SHADOW IN THE DARK
The three blinding beams of the tactical flashlights sliced through the darkness, pinning us like insects under a microscope.
I squinted against the harsh glare, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. Beside me, Luca didn’t flinch. He tightened his grip on my hand and subtly shoved Frank behind him, shielding both of us with his broad shoulders.
“Where is the key, Luca?”
The voice came from the center of the light beams. It was Vanessa.
She stepped forward, flanked by two massive men in dark tactical gear holding suppressed submachine guns. She had dropped the weeping victim act completely. She was holding Luca’s silver security key in her hand, twirling it around her finger with a cold, arrogant smirk.
“You have the key, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm. He kept his own weapon pointed downwards, hidden in the shadows of his leg. “What else do you want?”
“The key only grants access to the terminal,” Vanessa sneered, walking slowly toward us, her heels crunching on the broken crystal glasses. “I need the biometric authorization. I need your thumbprint on the scanner in the basement to authorize the wire transfer.”
“And if I refuse?” Luca asked.
Vanessa stopped a few feet away. She nodded to the man on her right.
The mercenary raised his weapon and aimed the red laser sight directly at Frank’s chest.
“Then your father finally pays for what he did to my family,” Vanessa said coldly. “My father died in a concrete cell because of you people. You took everything from me. Now, I’m taking everything from you. Two hundred million dollars. And then, I’m going to watch you burn.”
I felt Frank tremble behind us. Nineteen years of guilt and sacrifice, only to end up staring down the barrel of a gun in his own dining room.
“Let them go, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice dropping an octave. “Take me to the basement. You get the money, I get the bullet. Leave my father and Natalie out of this.”
Vanessa laughed. “Oh, how noble. But no. The old man stays here with my men. If you try anything clever downstairs, they shoot him. As for the maid…”
Vanessa turned her cold eyes on me. The sheer hatred in her gaze made my stomach turn.
“The maid has been a thorn in my side for four years,” Vanessa spat. “She goes down to the basement with us. I want her to watch you lose your empire before I kill her myself.”
Luca’s grip on my hand turned white-knuckle tight. The idea of me being in danger pushed him right to the edge.
“She’s innocent,” Luca growled, stepping slightly in front of me. “She has nothing to do with our families.”
“She ruined my plan tonight!” Vanessa shrieked, losing her composure for a split second. “She found the pawn ticket! She protected the old man! Bring her!”
One of the mercenaries stepped forward, grabbing my arm violently and yanking me away from Luca. I cried out as his fingers dug into my skin.
“Touch her again and I will break your neck,” Luca snarled, raising his weapon.
Instantly, both mercenaries leveled their guns at Luca’s head.
“Drop the gun, Luca,” Vanessa commanded. “Or Frank dies right now.”
Luca looked at his father. Frank gave him a slow, resigned nod. Do it.
Slowly, agonizingly, Luca lowered his weapon and placed it on the floor. He kicked it away.
“Good boy,” Vanessa smiled. She gestured toward the kitchen doors. “Let’s go to the basement.”
They forced us to walk. The mercenary kept a tight grip on my arm, shoving me forward through the swinging kitchen doors. Luca walked beside me, his eyes constantly scanning the dark hallways, calculating every shadow, every exit.
We reached the heavy steel door that led down to the subterranean levels of the mansion. Vanessa used the stolen key to unlock it. The heavy door groaned open, revealing a stairwell lit only by the red glow of emergency battery lights.
As we descended, the air grew cold and damp. The basement was a fortress, built to withstand a siege. At the end of a long concrete corridor sat a heavy vault door with a glowing biometric scanner pad next to it.
“Open it,” Vanessa ordered, pushing Luca toward the scanner.
Luca stood in front of the pad. He looked at me over his shoulder. His dark eyes communicated a silent, desperate message. Be ready.
“Scan the print, Luca,” Vanessa snapped, raising her own small silver handgun and pressing it into my ribs. “Don’t stall.”
Luca slowly raised his right hand. He placed his thumb on the glowing green glass.
The scanner beeped twice. A mechanical voice echoed in the hallway.
“Biometric confirmed. Enter authorization code.”
A digital keypad illuminated below the scanner.
“Punch in the code,” Vanessa demanded, her eyes wide with greed.
Luca hesitated. His fingers hovered over the keys.
“I said punch it in!” Vanessa yelled, jamming the gun harder into my side.
I gasped in pain.
That was the trigger.
Luca didn’t punch in the code. Instead, he slammed his fist into the emergency lockdown button located right next to the keypad.
A deafening alarm shrieked through the basement. Red strobe lights began flashing violently, disorienting everyone in the tight corridor.
Vanessa screamed in shock, her finger flinching on the trigger.
Before she could fire, Luca spun around with terrifying speed. He grabbed Vanessa’s wrist, twisting it sharply upward. The gun fired into the concrete ceiling with a deafening crack.
At the exact same moment, I didn’t freeze. I used the only advantage I had. I knew this basement better than anyone. I knew exactly where the heavy brass fire extinguisher was mounted on the wall behind me.
I ripped the heavy metal cylinder off the bracket and swung it as hard as I could at the mercenary’s knees.
The heavy brass connected with a sickening crunch. The massive man howled in agony, his legs buckling under him. He hit the concrete floor hard, dropping his submachine gun.
I dove for the weapon.
