Explosion That Never Came
623 Words
Chapter 8: The Explosion That Never Came
Damien threw himself toward Aria.
"Down!"
The stranger smiled as his thumb pressed the hidden switch.
Aria instinctively covered her head.
Three...
Two...
One...
Nothing.
Silence.
The only sound was the frantic beeping of the timer.
The man lying on the floor frowned.
For the first time, confidence disappeared from his face.
"What...?"
Damien didn't hesitate.
He lunged forward and drove his shoulder into the attacker, sending him crashing against the steel vault wall. The remote control skidded across the marble floor.
Inspector Hale tackled the man's arm before he could reach it again.
Within seconds, two officers had him pinned to the ground.
The timer continued counting.
00:05
00:04
A bomb disposal officer rushed in.
"Move!"
He ripped open the explosive vest with practiced hands.
His eyes darted across the wiring.
Then he frowned.
"There isn't enough explosive compound."
Damien stared at him.
"What?"
The technician cut one wire.
The beeping stopped.
He slowly exhaled.
"It's fake."
The room fell silent.
"A decoy," the technician said. "Just enough material to make everyone believe it was real."
The attacker's lips curled into a grin despite being restrained.
"It worked, didn't it?"
Damien grabbed him by the collar.
"You risked innocent lives for a distraction."
The man laughed.
"You still don't understand."
His bloodshot eyes shifted toward Aria.
"You've already lost."
Damien's expression changed.
He released the prisoner immediately.
"The library."
Without another word, he sprinted out of the vault.
Aria followed.
They raced up the grand staircase, past frightened staff and shattered windows.
The library doors stood wide open.
Every bookshelf was untouched.
The paintings still hung perfectly on the walls.
Nothing appeared missing.
Aria looked around in confusion.
"I don't understand."
Damien walked directly to the fireplace.
He reached beneath the carved mantel and pressed something hidden from view.
A soft click echoed through the room.
Part of the wall slid open.
A secret chamber.
Aria's eyes widened.
Behind the wall stood a steel safe.
Its thick door hung open.
Empty.
Damien closed his eyes.
"They got it."
"What?"
"The Black Ledger."
Inspector Hale arrived moments later.
"What is the Black Ledger?"
Damien didn't answer immediately.
His jaw tightened.
"It contains the names of every person who secretly financed the Raven Circle over the last twenty-five years."
The inspector's face paled.
"Politicians?"
"Some."
"Business leaders?"
"Many."
"And criminals?"
Damien nodded once.
"The most dangerous of them."
Aria slowly turned toward him.
"So that's what they wanted all along."
"No."
Damien's voice was grim.
"The ledger was only the beginning."
He reached into the empty safe.
Taped to the back wall was another envelope.
Smaller this time.
Only one name was written across the front.
Damien.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of black paper.
Written in silver ink were just two sentences.
You protected the wrong child.
Ask her why she has the crescent-shaped birthmark.
Aria frowned.
"What birthmark?"
Damien looked at her as though the world had stopped turning.
"The one behind your left shoulder."
A chill spread through her body.
Almost no one knew about it.
Not even most of her friends.
"How do you know I have one?"
Damien didn't answer.
His silence said more than words ever could.
Before Aria could demand an explanation, Mrs. Collins rushed into the room, breathless.
"Miss Aria!"
"What is it?"
"The hospital just called."
"Hospital?"
"The DNA samples you asked Inspector Hale to rush through..."
Everyone froze.
The elderly woman swallowed hard.
"The results are back."
Aria's heart pounded.
"What did they find?"
Mrs. Collins looked first at Damien...
...then at Aria.
Tears filled her eyes.
"They said..."
Her voice broke.
"...Richard Bennett is not your biological father."
End of Chapter 8
- Writer
