CHAPTER 4 — The Funeral Turned Into a Battlefield
The first gunshot shattered the stained-glass windows.
Panic erupted.
Guests threw themselves behind marble columns as Secret Service agents drew their weapons.
"Protect the President!"
Bullets ripped through the grand hall.
One senator fell instantly.
Another security guard dove in front of Emily and Noah, taking a bullet in the shoulder.
"Run!" he yelled.
Emily grabbed Noah's hand and sprinted toward a side corridor while chaos exploded behind them.
Daniel Hale, barely alive, was lifted onto a stretcher.
But before the medics could move him...
Three armed men disguised as federal agents stepped directly into their path.
One of them calmly raised his badge.
"Federal Recovery Unit."
The Secret Service commander frowned.
"There is no Federal Recovery Unit."
The man smiled.
"There is today."
Without warning, he opened fire.
The medics scattered.
Daniel rolled off the stretcher, crashing onto the marble floor.
The tiny memory card slid from his trembling hand and disappeared beneath hundreds of terrified feet.
No one noticed.
Except Noah.
The little boy watched the black chip disappear beneath a broken chair.
His father's weak voice echoed in his mind.
"Never let anyone take the truth."
While adults fought for their lives...
Five-year-old Noah crawled beneath flying bullets.
A crystal chandelier crashed only inches behind him.
Emily screamed.
"NOAH!"
But he kept crawling.
A bullet tore through the carpet beside his tiny hand.
Another shattered the marble floor.
Finally...
His fingers touched the memory card.
He smiled.
"I got it, Daddy."
At that exact moment...
One of the gunmen spotted him.
"There!"
"The kid has the evidence!"
The assassin turned his rifle toward Noah.
Emily saw it.
Without thinking...
She threw herself across the room.
The gun fired.
Time seemed to stop.
The bullet struck Emily in the back.
She collapsed directly over Noah, shielding him with her own body.
"No... Mom..."
Blood slowly spread across her black dress.
Daniel screamed from across the hall.
"EMILY!"
Tears streamed down Noah's face as Emily weakly placed the memory card into his tiny palm.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Promise me..."
"No matter what happens..."
"Don't trust anyone."
Not the police.
Not the government.
Not even the President.
Noah nodded through his tears.
"I promise."
Emily smiled one last time...
Then her hand slowly fell to the floor.
Before Noah could cry out...
Every light inside the building suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the funeral hall.
Then a cold voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Phase Two has begun."
A giant steel security door slammed shut, sealing everyone inside.
The President looked around in horror.
Because every exit...
May you like
Had just been locked from the outside.
To Be Continued...
