She took another step toward the open hangar door.

The snow was falling thicker now, drifting inside the concrete floor.

The twin-engine turboprop outside hummed, its landing lights casting long, sweeping shadows across the walls.

I saw Grant’s eyes widen as he stared at his laptop screen.

“No,” Grant muttered.

“No, no, no.”

“It’s locked.”

“They’ve frozen the accounts.”

He grabbed a heavy metal wrench from the table.

He began slamming it down onto the laptop, shattering the screen in a desperate attempt to destroy the hard drive.

“Stop it, Grant!” Vanessa yelled, her attention flickering to him for a fraction of a second.

“Get the backup drive!”

That fraction of a second was all I needed.

I shifted my weight, preparing to spring forward.

But Lily moved first.

She suddenly went limp, dropping her entire weight toward the floor.

Vanessa’s grip slipped on Lily’s winter coat.

“You little brat!” Vanessa screamed, trying to pull her back up.

The gun in Vanessa’s hand wavered, pointing away from Lily’s head for a brief moment.

I raised my weapon, aligning the sights.

My finger tightened on the trigger.