Chapter 10 - The Sixty-Second Timer
The red digital display illuminated the subterranean gloom with an ominous, rhythmic pulse: 00:59... 00:58... 00:57...
"What is that?!" Claire shrieked, backing away from the iron table, the revolver trembling wildly in her grip. "What did you do?!"
"Father didn't just design the safe to protect his secrets, Claire," Julian said, his voice utterly devoid of fear, filled only with a serene, terrifying resignation. "He designed it to destroy them if anyone ever forced their way in without the master override code. He knew the Vance family would come knocking eventually. He made sure that whoever opened this box would burn with the evidence."
00:51... 00:50...
"Disarm it!" Claire screamed, stepping forward and pressing the gun directly against Julian's temple. "Disarm it right now or I swear to God I will splatter your brains across this stone!"
"There is no disarm code, Claire," Julian whispered, staring directly into her wild, unhinged eyes. "The only way out is back up those stairs before that counter hits zero. But you're not going up there. Neither am I."
Arthur didn't waste a breath. In the split second that Claire’s focus was entirely consumed by the blinking red digits of the bomb, Arthur lunged across the stone floor. He grabbed Claire's gun arm, twisting her wrist with brutal, unforgiving force until the bones audibly popped. Claire let out a shriek of agony, the revolver dropping into the darkness beneath the iron shelves.
00:42... 00:41...
"Mother, move!" Arthur roared, throwing Claire violently against the stone wall. "Julian, get to the stairs! Now!"
Claire hit the floor, dazed, but scrambled toward the dark corner where the gun had fallen. Her silk dress was shredded, her face smudged with soot and blood. She wasn't human anymore; she was a creature possessed by generational vengeance.
Julian didn't move toward the stairs. Instead, he grabbed Arthur by the lapels of his suit, pulling his brother close until their faces were inches apart. "Take Mother and Lily, Arthur. Get them out of the house. You have forty seconds before this foundation collapses into the riverbed."
"I'm not leaving you again!" Arthur yelled, fighting against his brother’s grip. "We leave together!"
"You fool, look at me!" Julian shouted, tearing open his coat. Beneath the wet fabric, wrapped around his abdomen, were dirty, blood-soaked bandages. "I was shot at the docks two days ago by her associates. I was dead before I walked through that door tonight! My only purpose was to make sure she didn't hurt that little girl!"
00:31... 00:30...
Eleanor was already at the bottom of the spiral stairs, looking back with tear-streaked eyes. "Julian, my boy..."
"Go, Mother!" Julian barked, his voice cracking with emotion. He shoved Arthur toward the iron rungs with all the strength left in his failing body. "Go, Arthur! Protect Lily! Be the man Father never was!"
From the shadows near the shelving, Claire emerged, her hand clutching a heavy iron spanner she had grabbed from the workbench. She charged toward the stairs, screaming like a banshee, intent on dragging them all down with her.
Julian spun around, lowering his shoulder, and tackled Claire to the stone floor just as the timer chimed at 00:20.
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"Julian!" Arthur screamed, reaching back from the lower rung.
Julian looked up from the floor, his arms locked around Claire in an inescapable death grip as she clawed and bit at his face. "Run, Arthur!" Julian cried out with his final ounce of breath. "RUN!"
