Chapter 7 - I WAS THE REAL TARGET
The words struck harder than Grant's shove.
I stared at Cross.
“Explain.”
He shook his head.
“Not here.”
I laughed once.
“Every exit is locked.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Talk.”
Cross looked at me.
“Three months ago, someone discovered Thomas Bennett left a second archive.”
“What archive?”
“The real one.”
I looked toward the black case.
Cross shook his head.
“That?”
He smiled.
“That's bait.”
My father stared at him.
“You used us.”
“Yes.”
“To bring them together?”
Cross looked around the ballroom.
“Yes.”
Suddenly I understood why so many specific people had attended tonight.
This charity gala hadn't gathered them accidentally.
Someone had manipulated invitations.
Cross had engineered the room.
But he hadn't controlled everything.
“Why me?”
“Because Thomas left the archive to you.”
“I was nine when he died.”
“He trusted what you would become.”
My throat tightened.
“Where is it?”
Cross smiled.
“You already have it.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
He looked at my wrist.
My bracelet.
An old platinum bracelet my grandfather had given me days before his death.
I had worn it for years.
My father stared at it.
Cross whispered.
“The key.”
I touched it.
“No.”
“Thomas designed the clasp himself.”
My pulse accelerated.
I removed the bracelet.
Marcus examined it.
He pressed the clasp.
Nothing.
Then twisted the inner hinge.
A tiny metal piece slid out.
Not jewelry.
A storage key.
My father whispered.
“My God.”
Cross nodded.
“Now they know you have it.”
“Who?”
Before he answered, a gunshot exploded upstairs.
Everyone screamed.
Marcus drew his weapon.
Blackridge officers moved instantly.
A second shot followed.
Then silence.
Marcus touched his radio.
“Report.”
Nothing.
“Team Two?”
Static.
He looked at me.
Someone had taken out his officers upstairs.
The ballroom wasn't secure anymore.
Marcus shouted.
“Everybody down!”
People dropped.
Another gunshot shattered a chandelier.
Crystal rained over the floor.
Screams erupted.
I crawled behind a marble column.
My father reached me.
“Give me the key.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
“If they want it—”
“They'll kill you too.”
A figure appeared on the balcony.
Black tactical clothing.
Mask.
Weapon.
Marcus fired.
The figure disappeared.
Then another appeared across the room.
This wasn't one attacker.
It was a team.
And somehow they were already inside the estate.
Cross shouted from behind a table.
“They came through the tunnels!”
I stared at him.
“What tunnels?”
His answer made my blood run cold.
“The ones your grandfather built.”
A masked attacker descended the staircase.
Security engaged him.
Guests screamed and crawled beneath tables.
I held the tiny key inside my fist.
Then someone grabbed me from behind.
A hand covered my mouth.
I fought.
A voice whispered beside my ear.
“Don't scream.”
I recognized the voice.
Victoria.
She dragged me behind a curtain.
I turned.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving your life.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because my brother wasn't supposed to hurt you.”
“What?”
“He was supposed to scare you.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who told him to?”
She looked toward the balcony.
May you like
Then back at me.
“Our father.”
