Chapter 7 - Forty Minutes of Air

Emergency lights flashed red.

Gabriel reached the door.

“Luke.”

“Working on it.”

No signal.

Reinforced concrete.

Independent lock controls.

Someone had triggered a security lockdown.

The manager was no longer answering the intercom.

Daniel checked the air vent.

“Does this room seal completely?”

Luke looked at the wall panel.

“During fire containment, yes.”

“How long?”

“Depends.”

“That isn't an answer.”

Luke stared at the display.

“Forty minutes before oxygen levels become dangerous.”

Gabriel swore.

I looked at the documents.

“Take pictures.”

Everyone stared at me.

“If someone locked us in here, they're coming for these.”

Noah immediately started photographing every page.

Michael copied serial numbers.

Daniel searched for mechanical overrides.

Gabriel pounded against the door.

I noticed something on Grandma's envelope.

A small line near the bottom.

When doors close, Evelyn, remember the garden.

I almost laughed.

“The garden.”

Gabriel looked at me.

“What?”

“When we were kids.”

Understanding crossed his face.

Grandma's greenhouse had a locked tool shed.

Whenever we got trapped inside, she taught us never to fight the strongest barrier.

Look for the weakest hinge.

Gabriel turned toward the vault door.

Not the lock.

The hinges.

Internal safety hinges had protective covers.

Daniel ripped one loose with a steel bracket from a shelving unit.

Luke found the release mechanism.

Thirty-one minutes later, the door shifted.

Gabriel and Michael forced it open enough for us to crawl through.

The hallway was empty.

The manager lay unconscious behind his desk.

Alive.

Security footage had been erased.

Almost.

Luke recovered seventeen seconds.

A man in a maintenance uniform entered.

We couldn't see his face.

But when he turned, a tattoo showed above his collar.

Gabriel froze.

“You know him?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Peter Hall.”

The missing employee.

Peter had betrayed Gabriel.

Peter had photographed us.

Peter had locked us inside.

Which meant Peter was working directly for the Coles.

Police issued an alert.

But I was thinking about Vanessa.

If Peter had her, she might still be alive.

Then Noah's phone rang.

A blocked number.

He answered.

Peter's voice came through.

“You found the documents.”

Gabriel grabbed the phone.

“Where's Vanessa?”

Peter laughed.

“Alive.”

“For now?”

“For now.”

“What do you want?”

“The originals.”

Gabriel looked at me.

Peter continued.

“Midnight. Old Mercer estate.”

My childhood home.

The house where Grandma raised us.

The property had been empty for years.

“Come alone, Evelyn.”

Gabriel shook his head.

I ignored him.

“What happens if I don't?”

Peter paused.

Then another voice came through.

Vanessa.

Weak.

Terrified.

“Evelyn, don't—”

A slap silenced her.

Peter returned.

“Midnight.”

The call ended.

Gabriel immediately said, “No.”

I looked at him.

“She called the police for me.”

“She also slept with your husband.”

“And when it mattered, she tried to stop him.”

“You cannot walk into a hostage exchange.”

“I'm not going alone.”

Peter had demanded one thing.

He had forgotten something Grandma taught all six of us.

A Mercer never walks into danger alone.

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