Chapter 16 - THE POISONED MIRROR
"Evelyn?" Adam whispered in sheer disbelief. "She worked for my father for fifteen years before running the Gilded Room. She organized Noah’s christening party! She cried when she saw Noah walk back into the restaurant!"
"It was a performance," Leah said, cold rage coursing through her veins. "Think about it, Adam! Who had twenty-four-hour master keycard access to the mezzanine maintenance rooms to saw that brass bolt? Who knew the security cameras’ blind spots? Who had access to the guest list and knew exactly which table Noah and you were seated at?"
"And who stands to collect Julian's massive debt if the Sterling estate defaults?" Jordan added. "Julian signed an agreement: if he failed to pay back Apex Horizon by midnight tonight, all his inherited rights to the Sterling Trust would transfer directly to Apex’s managing director—Evelyn Vance."
Suddenly, the overhead fluorescent lights in the safe house flickered violently and died.
The emergency backup red lights hummed to life, bathing the concrete room in a bloody, sinister glow. A shrill alarm began to beep from the ventilation control panel by the door.
"What is that?" Adam cried out, darting toward the cot where Noah was beginning to stir, rubbing his eyes.
"The external air intake," Marcus shouted, drawing his service weapon as he rushed to the monitor. "Someone just disabled the roof filtration system! They're pumping something into the HVAC!"
A sweet, chemical odor—like crushed almonds and burning sugar—began hissing through the overhead metal vents.
"Cyanide derivative!" Leah yelled, pulling her paramedic trauma shears from her belt. "Don't breathe it in! Marcus, get the fire axe! Adam, cover Noah’s face with a wet cloth!"
Noah began to cough, his tiny chest heaving as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Daddy! It hurts to breathe!"
"Hold on, Noah! Daddy's got you!" Adam soaked a cotton shirt in bottled water, clamping it over his son’s mouth and nose while scooping him up into his arms.
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Marcus slammed the heavy fire axe against the secondary emergency escape hatch at the rear of the bunker. The metal groaned, sparks flying under the crimson lights. On the third strike, the lock cylinder sheared off, and the iron door swung open into the dark, damp subterranean tunnels of the city’s abandoned subway network.
"Go! Go!" Leah urged, pushing Adam and Noah into the darkness just as the first clouds of pale grey gas dropped from the ceiling like a guillotine.
