Chapter 6 - TRAPPED IN THE VAULT
"NO!" David yelled, springing to his feet and diving toward the closing vault door.
He managed to shove a heavy steel chair into the frame just as the massive door slammed against it, leaving a narrow six-inch gap. The hydraulic motors screamed under the strain, smoke beginning to billow from the door mechanism.
"Julian! Help me!" David roared, grabbing the edge of the heavy steel door and pulling with all his strength.
Julian, realizing he had been played as a pawn in Clara’s grand game, didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, grabbing the frame alongside David. Together, the two brothers heaved against the crushing force of the automated lock.
"Vanessa, get Sophie out through the gap!" David shouted, his muscles tearing under the immense pressure.
Vanessa, shaking off her shock, grabbed Sophie by the waist and shoved her through the narrow opening into the main basement corridor. "Go, Sophie! Run outside!"
Sophie slipped through easily. But instead of running away, she stood on the other side of the gap, holding the small metallic remote.
"Sophie, pass the remote!" Vanessa pleaded, reaching her arm through the gap. "You can override the lock!"
Sophie looked down at the remote, then looked up at Vanessa. "Mummy said if I press the red button, the room seals forever and I get to go to Switzerland to be a princess."
"Sophie, no!" David screamed, his grip slipping as the metal chair began to bend under the weight of the hydraulic door. "She’s lying to you! She abandoned you! I am your father, I love you!"
Sophie hesitated. Her young mind seemed caught in a terrifying tug-of-war between her mother's dark manipulation and her father's desperate, genuine love. Tears finally began to pool in her eyes—real tears this time.
"Daddy..." she whimpered, her hands trembling violently.
"Look at me, Sophie!" David begged, his fingers bleeding against the sharp steel. "Remember the storybooks we read every night? Remember the promises we made? I would never let anyone hurt you! Please, baby, press the blue button!"
"She's going to kill us all, Sophie!" Julian grunted, his knees buckling under the pressure. "Your mother doesn't care about anyone!"
Above them, the faint sound of ticking began to echo through the ventilation shafts of the panic room.
TICK. TICK. TICK.
"Gas..." Vanessa gasped, smelling a faint, sweet chemical odor drifting from the ceiling vents. "She's pumping carbon monoxide into the room!"
"Sophie, PLEASE!" David cried out, his voice breaking.
Sophie looked at the small blue light on the remote. Her lips trembled. "Daddy... I'm sorry."
She slammed her thumb down on the blue button.
The hydraulic motors groaned in reverse. The heavy steel door slowly lurched back open.
David and Julian collapsed onto the floor, gasping for fresh air as the sweet, poisonous gas began to dissipate into the wider basement.
David immediately scrambled to his feet, pulling Sophie tightly into his arms. "I got you, baby. I got you."
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"We need to get out of here right now!" Julian yelled, retrieving his gun from the floor. "If Clara is monitoring this, she knows we escaped!"
As if on cue, the lights in the basement went pitch black.
