Chapter 5 - Black Water
They fell through twenty feet of rushing air before hitting the icy, churning black water of an underground drainage canal.
The cold hit Emma like a physical blow, driving the oxygen straight from her lungs. The current was savage, dragging her under, tumbling her over slick rocks and iron rebar. Her vision grayed out; her hands flailed uselessly against the rushing dark.
Then Julian’s arm hooked around her chest, powerful and unyielding. He kicked hard against the undertow, breaking the surface with a ragged gasp.
Above them, the ceiling of the drainage tunnel rumbled as the thermite charge detonated. A blinding plume of white fire and superheated concrete roared through the chute, venting harmlessly into the storm water fifty yards behind them. The concussive wave sent a wall of frothing water crashing over their heads.
Julian dragged her toward an rusted iron platform bolted to the tunnel wall. He hauled her out first, tossing her onto the corrugated metal grating like a discarded doll, before pulling his own waterlogged weight up beside her.
Emma rolled onto her hands and knees, coughing up foul, bitter water, her body shuddering violently from hypothermia. She looked down at her bare arms, covered in black grease and bruising scrapes.
Julian lay flat on his back, staring up at the dripping brick archway of the old municipal aqueduct. His black shirt was torn open, and along his left ribcage, a bright crimson ribbon was staining the wet cotton. A bullet had grazed him clean across the flank during the firefight.
""You're hit,"" Emma choked out between coughs.
""It's nothing,"" Julian said, his voice flat, though his jaw was clenched so hard the muscles jumped beneath his stubble. ""Victoria moved faster than I anticipated. She didn't hire local. Those were Vanguard operatives.""
""Why?"" Emma dragged herself closer, her knees screaming against the iron grate. ""Why does she want the Vatican ledger? My father said it was just numbers. Old investments!""
Julian sat up slowly, pressing a hand against his bleeding side, his dark eyes fixing on hers with terrifying clarity in the dim amber light of a distant maintenance bulb.
""Because the ledger doesn't list money, Emma,"" he said, breathing through the pain. ""It lists bloodlines. It lists every illegitimate heir fathered by the five ruling syndicates over the last forty years to secure treaties and mergers.""
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver locket. Amazingly, it was still intact. He snapped it open, revealing the hidden compartment beneath the photograph.
May you like
Inside rested a micro-transponder, blinking with a faint, rhythmic red pulse.
""Victoria isn't trying to steal your inheritance,"" Julian said, looking directly into her wide, horrified eyes. ""She's trying to eliminate you because you aren't Salvatore Moretti’s daughter. You are my late father's only legitimate child. Which makes this entire empire yours.""
