Chapter 6 - Into the Fire"Move!" Vance grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the dark, open tunnel.
Behind us, the sound of collapsing masonry echoed through the walls like thunder. Chunks of concrete rained down from the ceiling of the bunker, smashing into the computer servers and sending a shower of sparks flying into the air.
We sprinted down the narrow concrete tunnel, the air growing stale and thick with dust. My lungs burned with every breath, but I didn't stop. The image of Viktor Novak’s chilling smile burned behind my eyelids. He didn't just want the key; he wanted to bury me alongside Carl’s legacy.
After what felt like a mile of frantic running, a faint square of grey light appeared ahead of us.
"The railway exit!" Vance yelled over the roaring sound of collapsing earth behind us.
We burst out of the tunnel just as the ground behind us violently heaved, sending a cloud of thick gray dust billowing into the abandoned railway yard. Coughing and wiping soot from my face, I stumbled forward onto the gravel tracks.
Waiting beside an idling black armored SUV with tinted windows was a driver who immediately threw open the back door.
"Get in! Now!" Vance shouted, shoving me into the leather-lined interior before diving in behind me and slamming the door shut.
The SUV squealed its tires, tearing out of the railway yard and speeding into the neon-lit maze of the city streets.
I sat panting in the back seat, my clothes covered in dust, clutching the heavy brass key so tightly the metal edges bit into my palm. I looked out the tinted window as the skyline blurred past. Every building, every street corner suddenly looked different—not as a familiar city, but as a chessboard where invisible players had been moving pieces for decades.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice cold and steady.
"A safe house in the financial district," Vance replied, tapping instructions into a secure encrypted tablet. "And then... we prepare for the counterattack."
"No," I said, turning my head to look him straight in the eye. "We aren't hiding. If Viktor Novak wants the key so badly, we're going to give him an invitation he can't refuse."
Vance stopped typing. He looked at me, studying my face in the dim light of the cabin. For a moment, the hardened enforcer looked stunned.
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"What do you have in mind, Elena?"
"We go straight to the top," I said, my voice dropping into a tone that sent a chill through the air. "Carl built this empire, and Viktor thinks he can steal it. But Carl made me his legal wife, his sole heir, and the owner of every dirty secret in this city. If Viktor wants the throne, I'm going to make him crawl for it."
