Chapter 5 - The Glass Mask Cracks
BOOM!
The second breach charge exploded. The steel door snapped off its heavy hinges, crashing onto the concrete floor with a deafening screech. Smoke poured into the bunker, thick and blinding.
Victoria stepped through the haze, flanked by two heavily armed mercenaries. She raised her silenced pistol, her face twisted into a triumphant sneer.
"End of the line, Andrew!" she yelled into the smoke. "Hand over the bitch and the key, and maybe I’ll let you raise your bastards in a cage!"
Silence met her words.
"Andrew?" Victoria frowned, stepping further into the bunker. The smoke began to clear, revealing the empty room.
nearby leather sofa was overturned. The weapons locker was wide open. But there was no sign of Andrew, Eleanor, or the kids.
"Check the emergency ventilation shaft!" Victoria barked at her men. "They couldn't have gone far!"
Suddenly, a shadow dropped from the ceiling duct directly behind the first mercenary.
Andrew slammed a heavy steel pipe across the guard's helmet, dropping him instantly. Before the second guard could swing his rifle around, a loud shot echoed through the bunker.
BANG!
The second mercenary collapsed, shot clean through the shoulder. Standing in the darkened doorway of the backup generator room was Eleanor, holding a secondary handgun with both hands, her teeth grit in pure fury.
"You missed my heart three years ago, Victoria," Eleanor said, her voice deadly steady as she aimed the barrel straight at Victoria’s chest. "You won't get a second chance."
Victoria froze, dropping her silenced pistol as she raised her hands. Her arrogant smile evaporated, replaced by raw, unadulterated fear.
"Eleanor... wait," Victoria stammered, taking a slow step back toward the ruined entrance. "We can make a deal. Millions... hundreds of millions! The shipping routes are worth billions! We can split it!"
"You tried to burn my children alive," Eleanor said, stepping forward, her eyes burning with righteous fury. "There is no deal."
"Andrew, talk to her!" Victoria shrieked, looking at Andrew who was now standing right beside Eleanor, his arms crossed, watching Victoria like a predator watching its prey. "She's unstable! Look at her! She's broken!"
"She's not broken, Victoria," Andrew said coldly. "She's angry."
Suddenly, red and blue strobe lights flashed through the shattered windows upstairs. Sirens blared in the distance, growing louder by the second.
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Victoria realized it was over. She let out a hysterical laugh, her polished demeanor shattering into complete madness.
"You think you won?" Victoria spat, sneering at them both. "You think locking me up fixes this? You have no idea how deep this goes, Andrew! You think Raymond was the mastermind? Raymond was just a puppet! The real owner of your family's debt... the person who ordered Eleanor's execution... is sitting in your own boardroom!"
