CHAPTER 16: THE SANCTUARY UNDER SIEGE
CHAPTER 16: THE SANCTUARY UNDER SIEGE
We locked ourselves inside the foundation's secure office. The storm outside had finally broken, rain hammering violently against the high glass windows. Hannah's fingers flew across the keyboard, uploading the metadata directly to the federal prosecutor's encrypted portal. "It's taking too long," I said, checking the digital clock on the wall. 11:34 PM. Twenty-six minutes until Christian's deadline. Suddenly, the lights in the building flickered. Then, they died completely. The backup generators did not kick in. The mechanical hum of the server racks went silent. Total, suffocating darkness swallowed the office. "They've cut the grid," Hannah muttered, her voice dropping to a tense whisper. Through the glass partition, the security monitors flickered on battery power. The external cameras caught three dark shapes moving across the front lawn. They weren't carrying briefcases. They were carrying industrial breaching tools. "Evy, take Sophie and hide in the basement vault," Hannah ordered, closing her laptop and grabbing a tactical flashlight from the drawer. "What about you?" "I'm going to finish the upload via the satellite network link." I ran down the hallway to the secure playroom where Sophie was sleeping. I scooped her into my arms, her small body warm and heavy with sleep. "Mom? What's happening?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes. "It's just a storm, Sophie. We're going to play a game in the safe room, okay?" As we reached the basement stairs, a loud, explosive crash echoed from the front lobby. The glass doors had been shattered. Heavy footsteps began to slap against the hardwood above us. Christian Sterling had arrived to collect his debt.
