Chapter 5 - Wire and Ice
Eleanor did not hesitate. The iron-willed matriarch plucked two long, reinforced steel pins from her chignon, her hands shaking slightly as she handed them to her son. Her hair tumbled loosely over her designer shoulders, shattering her aristocratic façade.
""Julian,"" Eleanor whispered, her voice cracking with maternal panic. ""If this is the Consortium... they have been planning this since your father's plane went down.""
""I know,"" Julian replied coldly. ""You thought you were outmaneuvering them by forcing me to marry Victoria. You led them straight to our front door.""
Julian stepped into Victoria’s personal space. The scent of her expensive French perfume was overpowered by the sharp, metallic tang of ozone leaking from the micro-charge at her throat.
""Victoria,"" he commanded softly, holding her gaze. ""Look into my eyes. Do not look down. Do not look at Clara. Look only at me.""
Victoria swallowed, feeling the wire bite faintly into her skin. ""You loved her, didn't you? In Chile. You really loved her.""
""I did,"" Julian confessed without hesitation, inserting the first steel pin into the microscopic housing behind the primary sapphire. ""And I tried to protect both of you by keeping your worlds apart. I was a coward, Victoria. But right now, I need you to be braver than I ever was.""
A faint click echoed behind Victoria’s ear. The flashing red diode flickered, switching to an unstable, rapid amber pulse.
""Ten seconds,"" Clara gasped, staring at the phone’s timer. ""Julian, the amber light means it's armed for detonation!""
""The ground wire is reversed,"" Julian muttered, sweat dripping from his forehead onto Victoria’s bare shoulder. ""It’s not German manufacture. It’s homemade. It’s an old military design.""
He shoved the second pin in at a sharp forty-five-degree angle, levering the battery contact away from the chemical ignition fuse.
Snap.
The amber light went dark. The heavy platinum necklace released its mechanical grip, falling into Julian’s waiting palm. Without a second thought, Julian flung the choker across the foyer into a heavy bronze urn.
Two seconds later, a muffled, blinding flash of white fire erupted inside the urn, melting the heavy metal into a puddle of smoldering slag. Smoke curled up toward the crystal chandelier.
Victoria collapsed onto the marble floor, gasping for air, clutching her burned neck where a faint red line marked her skin.
Julian didn't pause. He grabbed Clara’s hand, pulling her toward the grand rear doors. ""The north greenhouse. We have fourteen minutes before Leo runs out of air.""
Victoria raised her head from the floor, coughing through the acrid smoke. ""Wait!"" she croaked, her voice raw.
Julian paused at the threshold, looking back at his bride sitting ruined among the ashes of their wedding.
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Victoria reached into the folds of her ruined dress, pulling out the small mother-of-pearl revolver she always carried in her bridal purse for family security. She tossed it across the floor. It slid and stopped at Julian’s boots.
""Don't let them kill that boy,"" Victoria whispered, her eyes flashing with cold, aristocratic fury. ""And Julian... kill whoever ordered that necklace.""
