Chapter 17 - The Melody of SurvivalWith only fifteen minutes of breathable air left in the vault, Adrian abandoned the sparking wires and grabbed the golden key from my hand.
He inserted it into a hidden, dust-covered keyhole located right beneath the digital keypad on the steel door. The lock clicked mechanically, but a secondary red light continued to blink angrily, demanding a passcode input.
“It’s unlocked the physical bolt,” Adrian said, his voice tense, “but the electronic tumbler is still locked. We need a six-digit note sequence.”
“I’ll give it to you,” I said, stepping up to the keypad.
I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, letting the familiar rhythm of my mother’s piano play inside my mind. I could see her hands gliding over the keys. I could see Lucia spinning beneath the ballroom chandeliers.
D-sharp. E. G-sharp. C-sharp. F-sharp. B.
I translated the musical notes into the corresponding physical steps of the dance and pressed the buttons on the keypad with precise, rapid movements.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
For a agonizing second, nothing happened. The red lights continued to pulse. Marcus let out a soft, mocking chuckle from the corner.
Then, the flashing red lights abruptly clicked off.
A soft, melodic chime rang out from the control panel. The heavy red display shifted to a brilliant, welcoming green: SYSTEM UNLOCKED. OVERRIDE ACCEPTED.
With a loud, pneumatic groan, the massive steel door slowly slid open, flooding the dark archive with the bright, clean air of the hallway.
Adrian let out a breathless laugh of pure relief, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling me into a fierce, desperate embrace.
Marcus’s smirk vanished entirely. His jaw dropped as he watched the impossible happen.
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Before the disgraced lawyer could even attempt to stand up, two corporate security guards—alerted by the system reset—came rushing down the hallway, their boots slamming against the floor.
“Secure him,” Adrian ordered coldly, pulling away from me just enough to point at Marcus. “Take him straight to holding. And call the federal authorities. Tell them we have a full confession on corporate espionage and kidnapping.”
