Chapter 12 - The Iron Chamber
Julian sprinted back into the dining room, grabbing Lily under one arm and supporting his mother with the other. "Mother, we have to move. The wine cellar vault. It has the independent blast door."
Claire scrambled after them on hands and knees, sobbing openly now, her aristocratic arrogance entirely vaporized. "Julian, please! Don't leave me out here! They will kill me! I know too much!"
Julian paused at the concealed entrance behind the dining room pantry—a reinforced steel door disguised as an oak wine rack. He looked down at the woman who had sought to destroy his family, disinherit his daughter, and sell their legacy for paper.
"Get in," Julian grated, pushing his mother and Lily down the spiral stone stairs before dragging Claire by her wrist into the subterranean chamber.
Marcus backed down the stairs last, firing two deliberate shots up the stairwell to suppress the advancing footsteps. He slammed the heavy steel wheel on the inside of the blast door, locking the four-inch titanium bolts into the stone foundation.
The sound of gunfire ceased, replaced by the muffled thuds of heavy boots pacing directly overhead on the dining room floor.
Inside the bunker, the air was cool and smelled of aged cedar and dust. Emergency red LED lights hummed to life along the walls, bathing them in a dim, crimson glow.
Lily burried her face in Julian's chest, her tiny shoulders shaking. Julian cradled her head, kissing her brow. "You are safe, Lily. Daddy has you."
May you like
Eleanor sat on an iron trunk, breathing heavily. "They won't be able to breach that door with small arms, Marcus. But they have demolition equipment in Arthur’s convoy. We have twenty minutes at best."
"We don't need twenty minutes," Marcus said, walking over to a communications terminal mounted in the wall. "We only need five."
