Chapter 4 - The Unlikely Shield
The sound of ascending boots grew louder, echoing like drumbeats in Elena’s ears. Panic threatened to paralyze her, but maternal instinct took over. She scanned the twenty-fourth-floor landing. The magnetic lock was engaged, but beside the door sat a heavy metal fire extinguisher and a linen laundry chute used by the janitorial staff.
The chute was too narrow for her pregnant belly, leaving her with only one option. She lifted the heavy fire extinguisher, hiding herself in the deep alcove behind the stairwell door. Her arms trembled under the weight of the metal cylinder, her knuckles turning white.
Seconds later, the stairwell door below swung open. A tall figure in a dark security uniform stepped onto the landing, a tactical flashlight cutting through the gloom. Elena held her breath, closing her eyes as the beam swept across the concrete floor, stopping just inches from her bare, bruised feet.
"Mrs. Vance?" a low, urgent whisper cut through the silence.
Elena opened her eyes. The guard lowered his flashlight, revealing the scarred, familiar face of Marcus—the former Marine who headed Julian’s personal security detail. He wasn't drawing a weapon; his hands were empty and held up in a gesture of surrender.
"Marcus?" Elena choked out, keeping the extinguisher raised. "Did Julian send you to finish it?"
"Mr. Vance doesn't know what his sister is doing tonight," Marcus said quickly, stepping forward with his hands visible. "I intercepted Vivian’s communications to the night security team. She bribed the shift supervisor to turn a blind eye. If I wanted to hurt you, Elena, I wouldn't have brought this."
He reached into his tactical vest and pulled out a universal override keycard—the only thing capable of bypassing the lockdown. "We have less than four minutes before Vivian’s private security contractors breach the ground floor lobby. You need medical attention right now."
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Another contraction hit Elena, bending her double. She dropped the extinguisher with a hollow clang, gripping Marcus’s forearm to keep from collapsing.
"My car is in the sub-basement," Marcus said, hoisting her arm over his broad shoulder to support her weight. He swiped the keycard, and the heavy door to the twenty-fourth floor clicked open, revealing a dark, silent labyrinth of cubicles. "We take the freight elevator from here. Stay quiet, and whatever you do, don't look at the security cameras. Vivian is watching every monitor in the building."
