Chapter 9 - Cross
Cross stopped breathing.
Mia stared at him.
Claire looked from the girl to the federal investigator.
The resemblance was suddenly obvious around the eyes.
Cross whispered, “Lena?”
“You never knew,” she said. “That was the point.”
Adrian snapped, “Bomb first. Family collapse second.”
The timer hit 01:48.
Cross moved toward Lena.
Adrian caught him.
“If the chair is pressure-sensitive, you touch her and she dies.”
Cross’s face was wrecked. “Then do something.”
Adrian studied the wiring from a distance.
Claire looked at the operations room.
“Can the courthouse power be cut?”
“Bomb has its own battery.”
“What about the floor?”
Adrian looked at her.
“The floor?”
“The chair senses pressure. What if the floor under it drops instead of her standing up?”
Cross stared.
Adrian’s eyes sharpened. “Records crawlspace beneath this level.”
Father Michael smiled grimly. “That’s my girl.”
They raced to the maintenance hatch.
Adrian and Cross disappeared below.
Claire stayed with Lena and the children.
Timer: 01:09.
Lena looked at Claire. “You’re his wife.”
“For now.”
Despite everything, Lena almost laughed.
“He deserves that.”
Claire knelt near Mia. “Why did Shaw keep you alive?”
“Because she needed Mia to spoof Adrian’s bloodline until a real descendant existed.”
Claire felt sick.
“So Noah was the missing piece.”
“Yes.”
The floor beneath the chair creaked.
Adrian’s voice came through the vent. “Claire, when I say now, pull Mia back.”
Timer: 00:37.
Claire grabbed Mia.
Lena shut her eyes.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
Cross’s voice came from below. “I’m here.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“Too late.”
Timer: 00:15.
Adrian shouted, “Now!”
The floor panel dropped six inches.
The chair fell with it.
Lena screamed.
Cross caught the frame from below, maintaining pressure on the seat while Adrian cut the sensor plate loose.
00:05.
00:04.
00:03.
The red light went dark.
Everyone exhaled at once.
Then a gunshot cracked from the hallway.
Father Michael staggered backward.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Evelyn Shaw stood at the far end of the corridor.
Behind her were four armed agents.
She looked almost bored.
“Very touching.”
Adrian climbed from the crawlspace, gun raised.
Shaw smiled.
“You should check the archive.”
The terminal behind him beeped.
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