The dust in the corridor was starting to settle.

Elena lay on the floor, staring up at me with wild, terrified eyes.

“You think they will believe you?” she hissed.

“They will believe the numbers,” I said.

The terminal beeped as the upload completed.

Before I could press the send button, a low, rhythmic hum vibrated through the floorboards.

It didn’t sound like the security shutters.

It came from the deep, concrete vaults directly beneath our feet.

My heart sank.

There was only one thing kept in those lower vaults.

Nora looked down at her feet, her eyes wide with fear.

“Adrian,” she whispered. “What is that?”

A red warning light on the terminal began to flash rapidly.

A new alert appeared on the screen, overriding the lockdown status.

*Vault Sector Four: External Breach.*

That was the vault where Clara was kept.

The camera feed on the monitor flickered, showing a thick steel door slowly swinging outward.

A figure was standing in the shadows of the vault, looking directly into the lens.

It wasn’t one of Caleb’s men.

The figure stepped forward, into the harsh white light of the security camera.