Chapter 5 - The Glass House Falls"If you shoot me, the voice print requirement is never met," I said, my voice steadying as adrenaline surged through my veins. "The vault locks forever, and the money is transferred automatically to the state treasury. That was my father's ultimate failsafe, wasn't it?"
Marcus’s jaw tightened. For the first time since he walked down that pulpit, a flicker of genuine hesitation crossed his eyes.
"You're bluffing," Marcus hissed.
"Try me," I replied, stepping back toward the edge of the altar steps. "You spent six years hiding in the shadows, waiting for this wedding, waiting for all of us to be in one room so you could force our hands. But you miscalculated one thing, Marcus."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"You assumed Elena and I would tear each other apart over a man and a fortune."
I flicked my eyes toward Elena. She was staring up at me, the tears on her face drying into streaks of dirt and smeared makeup. In that split second, despite years of resentment, despite the fake rivalry, despite the cruel words spoken only minutes ago, an unspoken understanding passed between us. We were both victims of a grand, terrifying game played by the adults who were supposed to protect us.
Elena silently slid her foot under the fallen silver handgun on the floor.
"Elena, now!" I screamed.
Elena kicked the gun with all her strength across the sleek marble floor directly toward Julian.
Julian didn't hesitate. Despite the blood blinding his left eye, he swept his leg around, tripping the mercenary holding him, grabbed the sliding gun from the floor, and fired two precise shots.
BANG! BANG!
The two guards holding Julian collapsed. The cathedral erupted into absolute chaos once again.
"Kill them!" Marcus screamed, dropping his briefcase and lunging toward me.
Julian leaped across the altar, tackling Marcus mid-air. The two men crashed over the communion table, sending sacred silver cups and burning candles flying across the wooden pews.
"Liana, run!" Julian roared, wrestling with Marcus for control of the weapon.
Mercenaries began opening fire toward the altar.
"Liana! Get down!" Elena yelled, grabbing my arm with terrifying strength and dragging me behind the heavy oak lectern as bullets chewed into the wood above us, sending splinters showering over us.
"We have to get to the main security console!" I panicked, clutching the micro-chip key tight against my chest. "The doors are controlled by Marcus's tablet!"
"Look!" Elena pointed to the fallen briefcase on the altar floor. The screen was flashing red:
WARNING: MANUAL OVERRIDE INITIATED SYSTEM LOCKDOWN: 30 SECONDS REMAINING
"He initiated a lock-down pulse!" Elena yelled over the deafening gunfire. "If that timer hits zero, neural gas is released through the ventilation systems! He planned to kill everyone in this hall from the start!"
My blood ran cold. Three hundred innocent guests—friends, distant relatives, waitstaff—were trapped inside this cathedral, pounding desperately on the sealed iron doors.
"Mom!" I screamed, looking across the aisle.
My mother was cowering beneath a pew, her hands over her ears.
"Mom! The override code!" I yelled, trying to make my voice heard over the gunfire. "Dad's master code! What was it?!"
My mother looked up, her eyes wide with unadulterated terror. "I... I don't know! He never gave it to me!"
"Think!" I screamed, tears stinging my eyes. "He built this entire system around his family! What was the date?!"
"It's not a date, Liana!" Julian's voice cracked from the altar. He was pinned beneath Marcus, Marcus's hands choked tightly around his throat. Julian struggled for breath, his face turning blue, but his eyes locked onto mine. "It's... it's the date... you were... brought home!"
My mind raced back through the faint, foggy memories of my childhood. November 14th.
"11-14!" I shouted, diving out from behind the lectern, crawling on my hands and knees across the glass-littered floor toward the flashing briefcase.
A bullet struck the tile inches from my hand. I scrambled forward, grabbing the tablet keyboard, and punched in the numbers: 1-1-1-4.
CODE ACCEPTED. ENTER SECONDARY BIOMETRIC
"Elena!" I yelled. "Your thumb! Put your thumb on the screen!"
"Me?!" Elena cried, crawling toward me through the crossfire. "You said I'm not a Vance!"
"You raised this family with him!" I yelled back. " Dad registered your biometrics when you were six years old! You are his daughter on the system!"
Elena reached the briefcase, her trembling hand covered in dust and blood. She pressed her thumb onto the glowing green scanner.
BIOMETRIC MATCH CONFIRMED. DOORS UNLOCKED. VENTILATION CLEARED.
With a massive hydraulic hiss, the heavy oak doors at the back of the cathedral swung open wide. Sunlight flooded into the dark, smoky hall.
"Go! Everyone out!" Elena screamed to the terrified crowd.
The three hundred guests rushed toward the blinding sunlight in a frantic stampede.
At the altar, Julian used the distraction to throw Marcus off him, punching him viciously across the jaw. Marcus fell back, hitting his head against the sharp marble edge of the baptismal font, slumping unconscious to the floor.
Julian lay on the altar, breathing heavily, his chest heaving as blood dripped onto his torn collar.
I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck, sinking my face into his shoulder. "Julian... oh God, Julian..."
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. "I've got you, Liana. I've got you."
"It's not over," a cold, sinister voice whispered behind us.
We both froze.
May you like
Elena was standing near the altar steps, holding the silver handgun. But she wasn't pointing it at Marcus.
She was pointing it directly at us.
