CHAPTER 6 – The Man Buried Alive
The poison spread quickly.
Every breath burned their lungs.
Sophia rushed toward the massive steel vault covered in rust.
Its locking mechanism hadn't been touched in decades.
She wiped away years of dust.
Behind it...
An old fingerprint scanner still blinked faintly.
Vincent laughed bitterly.
"My father's fingerprints are gone."
"They buried him."
Sophia looked at him.
"No."
"They imprisoned him."
Elena stared in disbelief.
"What are you saying?"
Sophia swallowed hard.
"The Circle didn't kill your grandfather."
"They sealed him inside this bunker."
"For forty years."
Silence.
Vincent stepped backward.
"No human could survive that."
Sophia nodded.
"Not alone."
She entered a twelve-digit security code.
Nothing happened.
Then she placed her own hand on the scanner.
A mechanical voice echoed through the chamber.
FIRST AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.
The vault still refused to open.
"Second authorization required."
Sophia turned toward Vincent.
"Your blood."
Confused, Vincent cut his palm with a knife and pressed it against the scanner.
The machine remained silent.
Then—
DNA MATCH CONFIRMED.
Massive gears roared to life.
The ancient steel door slowly opened.
Cold air rushed out.
The chamber beyond was brightly lit.
Perfectly clean.
As if time had never passed.
In the center sat an elderly man with snow-white hair, calmly reading a leather-bound book.
He slowly looked up.
His sharp gray eyes were identical to Vincent's.
He smiled.
"You've finally come home."
Vincent's knees nearly buckled.
"Father..."
The old man stood effortlessly.
He didn't look weak.
He didn't look imprisoned.
He looked... prepared.
He closed the book and walked toward them.
"I've been waiting forty years."
Elena whispered,
"You knew we'd come?"
The old man nodded.
"I knew because I planned it."
Vincent stared at him in horror.
"You planned all this?"
The old man smiled without warmth.
"Every betrayal."
"Every war."
"Every death."
"Every empire."
He turned toward the security camera hidden in the ceiling.
Then looked directly into it.
"As for you, Orion..."
"I know you're watching."
A slow clap echoed from the speakers.
Then Orion's distorted voice returned.
"Excellent."
"The family is finally together."
The lights suddenly switched to red.
On the wall, a countdown appeared.
09:59... 09:58... 09:57...
Vincent frowned.
"What is that?"
His father answered calmly,
"The self-destruct sequence."
Elena's eyes widened.
"For this bunker?"
The old man slowly shook his head.
"No."
"For every hidden headquarters owned by The Circle..."
"...across the entire world."
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Exactly ten minutes remained before the greatest criminal empire in history would either disappear forever...
...or unleash chaos beyond anyone's imagination.
