Chapter 9: The Countdown
1234 Words
The robotic voice echoed through the underground bunker with chilling precision.
"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED."
"TEN MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION."
A shrill alarm filled every corridor beneath the Knight Estate, accompanied by flashing red emergency lights that bathed the concrete walls in an eerie crimson glow.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
Isabella stood frozen in front of the surveillance monitors, her eyes fixed on the now-dark screen where the image of Alexander in the interrogation room had vanished only seconds earlier.
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
"So..." she whispered, barely able to hear herself over the alarms. "Someone planted explosives beneath the mansion?"
Ethan's face had turned completely pale.
He rushed toward the main control console, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
The monitors immediately displayed a digital blueprint of the entire Knight Estate.
Red warning symbols flashed across nearly every floor.
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"This can't be happening."
"What is it?" Isabella asked.
"The explosives aren't only beneath the mansion."
He zoomed the blueprint.
Dozens of blinking red dots appeared.
Library.
Wine cellar.
Garage.
East wing.
West wing.
Garden tunnels.
Main staircase.
Every major support pillar beneath the estate had been rigged with military-grade explosives.
Isabella felt sick.
"They're trying to destroy everything."
Ethan nodded grimly.
"If these charges explode..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
The entire mansion would collapse.
Everything Alexander had built.
Every document.
Every piece of evidence.
Every memory.
Gone.
Then another realization struck Isabella.
"The staff!"
Ethan looked up.
"The servants are still inside."
"So are the security guards."
"And Martha."
Without another word, Isabella turned toward the exit.
Ethan grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?"
"We have to get everyone out."
"There isn't enough time."
"There has to be."
"You don't understand."
His voice became desperate.
"This bunker was designed to survive explosions."
"If we stay here—"
"We survive."
She stared at him.
"And everyone else dies?"
Silence.
She slowly removed his hand from her arm.
"I won't hide while innocent people are killed."
Before Ethan could stop her, she sprinted toward the staircase.
"...Mrs. Knight!"
He cursed under his breath before running after her.
---
The moment they reached the main floor, chaos erupted around them.
Servants rushed through the hallways.
Security personnel shouted orders into radios.
Crystal chandeliers swayed as another explosion shook the estate.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Martha hurried toward Isabella.
Her usually calm face was filled with panic.
"Mrs. Knight!"
"The generators are failing!"
"The gates won't open!"
"What?"
"The entire security system has been hacked."
Ethan's expression darkened.
"Victor."
Martha nodded.
"The front gates are locked."
"So are the emergency exits."
Another violent tremor shook the mansion.
Several paintings crashed from the walls.
Glass shattered somewhere upstairs.
The alarms continued counting down.
"EIGHT MINUTES REMAINING."
Isabella looked around at the frightened faces surrounding her.
People who had worked for Alexander for decades.
People who had families waiting for them.
Children.
Grandchildren.
People who trusted the Knight family.
"We're getting everyone out," she said firmly.
One of the security guards shook his head.
"The gates are reinforced steel."
"They're impossible to break."
Ethan suddenly snapped his fingers.
"The underground garage."
Everyone turned toward him.
"There's an emergency service tunnel."
"It exits beyond the estate walls."
Martha gasped.
"I completely forgot."
"It hasn't been used in years."
"It doesn't matter."
Ethan looked toward the staff.
"Everyone!"
"Follow me!"
The frightened employees immediately began moving.
---
As they hurried through the mansion, Isabella couldn't stop thinking about Alexander.
He was sitting alone in a jail cell.
Completely unaware that his home...
His memories...
And perhaps the only evidence proving his innocence...
Were about to disappear forever.
A painful ache settled inside her chest.
She barely knew the man.
Yet somehow...
The thought of losing him hurt.
"Mrs. Knight."
Martha's gentle voice interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up.
"You love him."
Isabella blinked.
"What?"
"I've worked in this family for twenty-five years."
"I recognize that look."
"No..."
She shook her head too quickly.
"This is just a contract."
Martha smiled sadly.
"Is it?"
"I barely know him."
"But you trust him."
Isabella couldn't answer.
Because Martha was right.
Despite every secret...
Every unanswered question...
Every mystery...
She trusted Alexander completely.
Why?
She didn't know.
Perhaps it was the way he'd stepped in front of bullets without hesitation.
Perhaps it was the letter he'd left behind.
Or perhaps...
Behind his cold exterior...
She had glimpsed a lonely man carrying unbearable pain.
---
They reached the underground garage.
More than thirty luxury vehicles sat parked beneath bright fluorescent lights.
Ethan ran toward a heavy steel door hidden behind a row of SUVs.
He pulled a rusted emergency lever.
Nothing happened.
He pulled again.
Still nothing.
"It's jammed."
Another explosion rocked the garage.
Concrete dust rained from above.
The robotic voice echoed once more.
"SIX MINUTES REMAINING."
Ethan grabbed a fire axe from the wall.
"Stand back."
He swung.
CRASH!
The old locking mechanism cracked.
Again.
CRASH!
The steel door finally burst open.
Fresh night air rushed inside.
The staff cheered.
"The tunnel!"
"Hurry!"
One by one, everyone began escaping through the narrow passage.
Martha stayed beside Isabella.
"You should go first."
"No."
"I'll leave after everyone else."
Martha smiled proudly.
"You're exactly the kind of woman Mr. Knight deserves."
Before Isabella could reply...
A slow clap echoed through the garage.
Everyone froze.
Victor stepped from behind a black limousine.
He wasn't alone.
Nearly twenty armed mercenaries surrounded him.
Each carried military weapons.
Victor smiled as if he were hosting a party.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to find the escape tunnel."
Ethan immediately stepped in front of Isabella.
"Get behind me."
Victor laughed.
"Relax."
"If I wanted you dead..."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"...I would simply wait."
Another explosion shook the garage.
Concrete cracked overhead.
Victor slowly walked closer.
"You're running out of time."
"What do you want?" Isabella demanded.
Victor looked directly at her.
"You."
Ethan tightened his grip on the fire axe.
"Never."
Victor ignored him.
"You've impressed me, Isabella."
"Most women would've run."
"Most women would've hidden."
"But not you."
His smile widened.
"Become my wife."
Silence.
Even the alarms seemed to fade.
Isabella stared at him in disbelief.
"What?"
Victor spread his arms.
"Alexander is finished."
"He'll spend the rest of his life in prison."
"Knight Global will belong to me."
"So..."
He smiled.
"Marry the winning brother."
Disgust flashed across Isabella's face.
"I'd rather die."
Victor sighed dramatically.
"Pity."
He snapped his fingers.
One of the mercenaries dragged someone forward.
A young woman.
Her hands were tied.
Her face bruised.
Martha gasped.
"Lucy!"
Lucy—the youngest maid working at the estate—was crying.
Victor pressed a pistol against her head.
"I'll ask one last time."
He looked at Isabella.
"Will you marry me?"
Tears filled Lucy's eyes.
"Please..."
Victor's finger tightened on the trigger.
Isabella's heart raced.
If she refused...
Lucy would die.
If she agreed...
She would betray Alexander.
Victor smiled.
"You have thirty seconds."
The countdown echoed once again through the collapsing mansion.
"FIVE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION."
And somewhere far away...
Inside a lonely prison cell...
Alexander suddenly looked toward the ceiling.
His instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong.
He stood abruptly.
The detective frowned.
"Sit down."
Alexander ignored him.
His voice was colder than ever.
"My wife is in danger."
To Be Continued...
- Writer
