Chapter 2 - THE DARKNESS
The ballroom exploded into panic.
Guests knocked over chairs.
Glass shattered across the floor.
Someone screamed that there was a gun.
Roman dropped the cake knife.
“Maya!”
She heard her name.
She could not see him.
A hand closed around her wrist.
The grip was hard.
Too hard.
Maya swung the fireplace poker blindly.
It struck something solid.
A man cursed.
She twisted free.
“Mom!”
No answer came.
Emergency lights flickered red along the walls.
For one second, Maya saw Sarah being dragged through the service doors.
A black-gloved hand covered her mouth.
Then the red light vanished.
Maya ran after her.
Someone caught her around the waist.
She kicked wildly.
“It’s me.”
Roman’s voice reached her.
He lifted her off the floor as another man rushed past them.
A sharp crack echoed near the windows.
One of the chandeliers trembled.
Roman pushed Maya behind an overturned table.
“Stay down.”
“My mother!”
“I saw.”
“You have to help her.”
“I will.”
Roman pressed two fingers to an earpiece.
“Viktor, west service corridor.”
“They took Sarah.”
Static answered him.
Then Viktor’s voice came through.
“Security system is dead.”
“Backup generators were manually disabled.”
“Julian?”
Roman asked.
“No visual.”
Roman looked toward the bridal table.
Elena’s chair was empty.
Maya followed his gaze.
“She ran.”
Roman’s face became still.
The emergency lights returned.
This time, they stayed on.
The ballroom looked like a battlefield of broken glasses, overturned tables and ruined flowers.
The man Maya had struck lay near the cake.
Blood ran from his forehead.
Viktor pulled a pistol from beneath the man’s jacket.
The guests screamed again.
“Seal every exit,” Roman ordered.
“No one leaves.”
A wealthy man near the stage protested.
“You cannot hold us here.”
Roman turned toward him.
“There was an assassination device inside my wedding cake.”
“My bride is missing.”
“A member of my staff has been abducted.”
“You will remain seated.”
The man sat down.
Maya searched the room.
Julian was gone.
Elena was gone.
Sarah was gone.
The black cylinder was gone too.
She stared at the empty place beside Roman’s shoe.
“Roman.”
He looked at her.
“The device.”
Viktor spun toward the cake.
Only black icing remained.
Someone had taken it during the blackout.
Roman crossed the room in three strides.
He grabbed the injured gunman by the collar.
“Who hired you?”
The man smiled through bloody teeth.
“No one hired me.”
Roman tightened his grip.
“Where is Sarah Vance?”
The man laughed.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
The man looked toward Maya.
Roman immediately moved between them.
The man’s smile widened.
“You should ask why Elena needed the girl alive.”
Maya felt cold all over.
Roman released him.
Viktor dragged the man away.
Maya touched the old phone inside her apron pocket.
It buzzed.
She pulled it out.
A new message glowed on the cracked screen.
Your mother is alive.
For now.
Bring Roman to the wine cellar alone.
Or she takes his place.
Maya turned the phone toward Roman.
He read the message once.
Then the service elevator behind them opened by itself.
Inside stood Sarah.
May you like
Her hands were tied.
A black device was strapped around her neck.
