Chapter 7 - THE BRACELET
Leo didn't cower.
As Vivienne aimed the gun at his face, the terrified, trembling boy vanished. In his place was the son of a man who had died trying to fight these monsters.
With a sudden, violent burst of speed, Leo ducked beneath Vivienne’s line of sight and drove his shoulder hard into her stomach.
The gun fired wildly, the bullet shattering the glass of the boardroom window, raining shards down onto the Manhattan street far below.
Vivienne shrieked as she stumbled backward, crashing into the mahogany table. The brass safety deposit key bounced off the polished wood and clattered onto the floor.
Chaos erupted.
Arthur’s guards lunged for Leo.
Nora didn't hesitate. She grabbed the heavy crystal decanter from the table and smashed it across the face of the nearest guard. The man roared in pain, clutching his bleeding nose, and went down hard.
Adrian, fueled by adrenaline, threw his body weight backward, shattering the wooden chair he was tied to. He rolled across the floor, his hands still bound behind his back by zip-ties.
“The key, Nora!” Adrian shouted.
Nora scrambled under the table, her hands frantically patting the plush carpet. Her fingers brushed cold metal. The brass key. She grabbed it and shoved it into her apron pocket.
A heavy hand grabbed Nora’s ankle and yanked her backward.
She hit the floor hard, the breath driven from her lungs.
The second guard dragged her out from under the table, raising his fist to strike her.
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the room.
The guard’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed beside Nora.
Standing behind him was Adrian. He had managed to maneuver his bound hands down his legs and step over them, bringing his arms to the front of his body. He had struck the guard with a heavy bronze bookend.
“Get up,” Adrian gasped, grabbing Nora’s arm and hauling her to her feet.
Across the room, Arthur Laurent had grabbed Leo by the collar, pressing a small silver pocket pistol against the boy’s temple.
“Enough!” Arthur roared, his cultured voice cracking into something ugly and desperate.
Everyone froze.
Vivienne picked herself up from the floor, her emerald dress torn, her perfect hair a ruined mess. She picked up her dropped handgun and aimed it at Adrian’s chest.
“You ruined everything,” Vivienne spat, her chest heaving. She glared at Nora. “You stupid, insignificant little girl. You should have stayed in the kitchen.”
Nora stood beside Adrian. Her uniform was torn. Her face was smeared with dust and blood. But she wasn't scared anymore.
“Let my brother go, Arthur,” Nora said, her voice echoing in the sudden silence of the boardroom. “Or you’ll never get the drive.”
“I’ll kill the boy, and then I’ll torture the code out of Adrian,” Arthur said coldly. “I have time.”
“No, you don't,” Nora said.
She slowly raised her left arm and pulled back the sleeve of her ruined uniform.
The tarnished silver bracelet glinted in the morning light filtering through the shattered window.
“Adrian doesn't know the code,” Nora said, looking Arthur dead in the eyes. “My father gave it to me. It’s engraved on the inside of this bracelet. The only thing Adrian knows is how to decrypt the drive once you plug it in. Without both of us, you have nothing.”
Arthur stared at the bracelet, his eyes widening slightly.
“Give it to me,” Arthur demanded.
“Let Leo walk out that door,” Nora negotiated, her voice hard. “He goes down the elevator. I watch him walk out onto the street. Once he’s safe, I take the bracelet off and give you the code.”
Arthur calculated the odds. The boy was useless to him. The girl and the billionaire were the prizes.
He slowly lowered the gun from Leo’s head. He shoved the boy forward.
“Go,” Arthur barked.
Leo stumbled toward Nora, tears streaming down his face. “Nora, I can't leave you—”
“Go, Leo,” Nora said fiercely, grabbing his face and kissing his forehead. “Run. Call the real police. Tell them everything.”
“They won't get here in time,” Vivienne sneered.
Leo looked at Adrian. Adrian nodded once, a silent promise.
Leo turned and bolted out the boardroom doors, his footsteps fading down the hallway.
Nora waited. She counted the seconds in her head, imagining Leo reaching the elevator, the doors closing, the descent to the lobby.
When she was sure he was gone, she unclasped the silver bracelet.
She held it up.
“Throw it to me,” Arthur commanded, stepping away from Vivienne.
Nora looked at the bracelet. The last thing her father had ever given her. The object that had caused all this death and misery.
She didn't throw it to Arthur.
She turned and hurled the silver bracelet straight through the shattered boardroom window.
It flew out into the open air, dropping forty-two stories toward the busy Manhattan street below.
Silence slammed into the room.
Arthur stared at the broken window in absolute shock.
Vivienne screamed, a sound of pure, unhinged fury.
“You bitch!” Vivienne shrieked, raising her gun to fire at Nora’s chest.
But Adrian was already moving.
He didn't attack Vivienne. He grabbed the heavy mahogany table and flipped it violently upward.
The massive table crashed into Vivienne, knocking the gun from her hand and pinning her against the wall.
Arthur snapped out of his shock and raised his pistol toward Adrian.
Nora dropped to her knees, grabbing the gun Vivienne had dropped.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't think about the consequences. She thought about her father.
Nora aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot was deafening.
Arthur Laurent cried out, dropping his pistol as a bloom of red exploded on his right shoulder. He collapsed onto the carpet, clutching his arm in agony.
Nora stood up, her hands shaking violently, the gun still pointed at Arthur.
Adrian stood beside her, panting heavily. He looked at the old man bleeding on the floor, then at Vivienne, who was trapped and weeping in frustration beneath the heavy table.
“It’s over, Arthur,” Adrian said quietly.
Arthur looked up, his face pale, his cultured mask completely shattered. “You threw it away. You threw the code away. The drive is locked forever.”
Nora lowered the gun slightly.
She reached into her pocket.
And pulled out the silver bracelet.
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Arthur stared at it, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
“I didn't throw the bracelet out the window,” Nora said coldly. “I threw a handful of broken glass. But you were so greedy, you didn't even look.”
