Chapter 20 - The Edge of the Trap
Emily spun toward the panoramic glass windows overlooking the Bay.
Down in the streets below, traffic had ground to a complete halt. Sirens wailed across the city.
A sleek, unmarked black helicopter without civilian registration numbers was ascending rapidly through the coastal fog, rising parallel to the glass tower—directly toward the fortieth floor.
"Emily, get down!" Sarah screamed.
The side door of the helicopter slid open.
Standing on the skid, harnessed in tactical gear, was a man holding an anti-material sniper rifle. He lowered his ballistic visor.
It was Julian.
His face was cold, calculating, and completely stripped of the loving fiancé he had once portrayed. He raised the heavy rifle, aiming the crosshairs directly through the reinforced glass at Emily’s chest.
Emily didn't run. She stood her ground, staring straight into the eyes of the monster she had almost married.
Julian smiled. He didn't pull the trigger.
Instead, he reached into his tactical vest, pulled out a small black remote device, and pressed a single switch.
Beneath Emily’s feet, the floor suddenly gave a sickening lurch.
A deafening electronic chime echoed through the entire penthouse suite:
*CRITICAL ELEVATOR SHAFT FAILURE. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. TOTAL FACILITY LOCKDOWN INITIATED.*
Heavy blast doors slammed shut over the boardroom exits, severing the room from the rest of the floor and trapping Emily, Sarah, the federal agents, and the remaining board members inside.
Simultaneously, the large television screen switched from the Baroness to a live video feed from the basement of Hayes Tower.
There, strapped to the main seismic foundation pillars of the skyscraper, were military-grade thermite demolition charges, a glowing red digital timer counting down rapidly:
*03:00... 02:59... 02:58...*
Through the glass, Julian lowered his rifle and raised his left hand.
On his ring finger was the identical platinum wedding band Emily had bought for him in Manhattan. He tapped the ring, blew a sarcastic kiss through the freezing coastal air, and signaled the helicopter pilot.
The chopper banked violently, peeling away into the thick fog over the bay, leaving Emily trapped at the top of a four-hundred-foot skyscraper with three minutes before the entire building collapsed into dust.
Sarah dropped to her knees, frantically trying to hack the electronic blast doors. "The system is bricked! Emily, the overrides are completely fried! We can't get out!"
Emily stood frozen, staring at the counting timer on the screen as the building groaned, the terrifying vibrations of the charges arming vibrating up through the floorboards beneath her boots.
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The timer flashed:
*01:59... 01:58...*
