Chapter 13 - Cornered in Concrete
Nora dropped the dead receiver onto the desk and ducked low beneath the concrete sill. Through the narrow slit in the bunker wall, she saw Matthew Vance himself, his linen suit stained with soot and limestone dust, accompanied by two of the armed contractors from the creek bed. In Vance’s hand was a pair of heavy industrial wire snips—he had cut the external communication conduit running along the outside wall.
""Come out, Nora,"" Vance called, his voice calm, confident, and echoing off the concrete facade. ""The sheriff’s office just confirmed your father went into cardiac arrest at the clinic an hour ago. There is no one left to inherit this parcel. It’s over.""
The words hit Nora harder than the bull’s horn had against the barn wall. Her father, the last steady anchor in her world, was gone. A crushing, suffocating weight settled over her chest, threatening to rob her of the breath she had fought so hard to keep. But underneath the grief, a cold, unyielding spark of rage ignited.
""You killed him,"" she whispered in the dark room, tears burning her eyes as she loaded the three shells into the internal magazine of her father’s shotgun. The slide racked forward with a loud, distinct steel-on-steel clack that carried clearly through the bunker door.
Outside, the footfalls stopped instantly.
""Nora, be smart,"" Vance’s tone turned urgent, losing its polished veneer. ""You shoot at my men, you die here, and nobody ever hears your side of the story. The fire at the barn took the whole center parcel. The court has already ruled in our favor. Walk out with your hands up, and I will personally pay your father's medical bills and guarantee your safe passage to the capital.""
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""You don't have the deed, Vance,"" she shouted back, moving silently toward the bunker’s rusted rear drainage hatch. ""And you don't have the survey map.""
""I have the earth,"" Vance snapped, dropping all pretense of gentility. ""Blow the door!""
