Chapter 10 - Seven Minutes to EscapeThe facility shook again.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Charlotte grabbed the nearest wall.
"What's happening?"
Her father shouted:
"Someone activated the demolition system."
Mara looked toward the control room.
"Can you stop it?"
"Only from the core."
Daniel stared at the timer.
Six minutes, thirty seconds.
"We're trapped."
Charlotte looked at her father.
"You survived twenty years. You built this facility. Tell me what we need to do."
Her father smiled faintly.
"That's my daughter."
They ran.
The facility was enormous.
Laboratories.
Research chambers.
Vaults.
Dozens of sealed doors.
Charlotte saw prototype energy cells glowing behind glass.
"This is what Margaret wanted."
Her father nodded.
"And why your mother died."
Charlotte stopped.
"My mother came here?"
"Several times."
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"Because she believed you could have a normal life."
Charlotte laughed bitterly.
"Normal ended a long time ago."
They reached the central chamber.
A massive spherical reactor occupied the room.
The countdown continued.
Five minutes.
Her father opened the control panel.
"I need the master authorization."
Charlotte looked at him.
"You have it."
"No."
He shook his head.
"Eleanor transferred it."
Charlotte understood.
"My name."
He nodded.
Charlotte placed her hand on the biometric scanner.
Green light.
The system recognized her.
OWNER CONFIRMED.
The reactor activated.
Mara stared.
"Charlotte."
"I'm doing it."
The countdown stopped.
Everyone froze.
Then the screen changed.
SECONDARY COUNTDOWN INITIATED.
Her father stared.
"No."
"What?"
"Someone built a backup system."
Three minutes.
Daniel suddenly stepped backward.
Charlotte noticed.
"Daniel?"
He looked terrified.
"I didn't know."
Mara raised her gun.
"Know what?"
Daniel's face crumbled.
"I wasn't working for Margaret."
Charlotte stared.
"Then who?"
Daniel whispered:
"Your grandmother was working for someone else."
"Who?"
Daniel looked at Charlotte.
"The person who owns the company controlling Solmere's creditors."
Charlotte's pulse raced.
"Name."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Blackridge Capital."
Her father went pale.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because Blackridge doesn't exist."
Charlotte stared.
"What?"
Her father pointed at the screen.
"It has no legal owner."
Mara whispered:
"Exactly."
The countdown reached two minutes.
Daniel pulled a small transmitter from his pocket.
Charlotte stared.
"What is that?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"My insurance."
He pressed the button.
The facility doors opened.
Armed men poured into the chamber.
Charlotte's father shouted.
"Down!"
Gunfire erupted.
Mara returned fire.
Charlotte grabbed the master drive from the console.
Her father pulled her toward an escape tunnel.
Victoria followed.
Daniel remained behind.
Charlotte turned.
"Daniel!"
He smiled sadly.
"Go."
A blast rocked the room.
The tunnel door slammed shut.
Charlotte screamed.
"Daniel!"
Her father dragged her away.
"He's buying us time."
They ran.
The island shook violently.
Three minutes became two.
Two became one.
Then silence.
Charlotte looked at her father.
"Did we stop it?"
He shook his head.
"No."
He pointed toward the ocean.
A massive wave was approaching the island.
The demolition system had triggered something underground.
The entire island began collapsing.
Charlotte stared.
"Where do we go?"
Her father pointed to a helicopter pad.
"Up."
They ran.
Behind them, the facility disappeared beneath an explosion.
As the helicopter lifted into the sky...
Charlotte looked down.
For one brief second, she saw a second helicopter leaving the island.
Someone had escaped.
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And the figure watching them through the window...
was wearing her mother's face.
