He was waiting for a split second to move, but Richard was too fast.

If Nathan lunged, the paper would catch.

“Let’s talk about this,” Nathan said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just put the lighter down, and we can figure this out.”

“There is nothing to figure out,” Richard said.

He leaned back slightly, his eyes darting toward the open doorway behind us.

The narrow stone corridor was dark and silent.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Richard said.

Suddenly, a loud, metallic click echoed from the corridor behind us.

The heavy wooden door to the wine cellar slammed shut with a deafening thud.

The green light on the wall panel beside us immediately turned a solid, angry red.

A loud, electronic beep sounded twice, high-pitched and sharp.

The air in the small vault suddenly felt very thin.

Richard smiled, his eyes gleaming in the flashlight beam.

“It seems we are all locked in now,” he whispered.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

The red light cast a sickening glow over the damp stone walls.

Nathan took a step toward his father, his hands still raised.