Chapter 7 - THE TAPE IN THE WALL
Emily reacted with terrifying speed, grabbing Julian's jacket and pulling him into a side maintenance closet.
She kicked the heavy iron door shut just as three rapid shots slammed against the metal panel.
"Who taught you to react like that?" Julian whispered in shock, staring at her through the dark.
"I spent four years in elite private security before your father hired me," Emily answered briefly.
She reached up into the ceiling tiles of the maintenance closet, feeling around until her fingers caught a small metal handle.
"There's an old service ladder leading to the subway tunnels," she instructed. "Climb now."
Julian didn't hesitate, hauling himself up into the dark shaft above.
Emily followed right behind him, pulling the metal grate closed just as the closet door was kicked off its hinges below.
They navigated the narrow, dusty air shaft in near-total darkness, hearing the muffled shouts of gunmen searching the basement.
Ten minutes later, they emerged into an abandoned subway station flooded with yellow emergency lights.
"We can't go back to your penthouse or the Hamptons estate," Emily said, catching her breath. "They'll be watching both."
"Where do we go?" Julian asked, wiping grease from his forehead.
"To a safe house your father set up in Brooklyn," she replied, pulling out a backup satellite phone.
"Did my father trust you completely, Emily?" Julian asked, looking at her intently.
"He trusted me enough to give me the code to his ultimate insurance policy," she said softly.
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"What insurance policy?"
"The original tape proving Arthur Sterling ordered the hit six years ago," Emily revealed. "And it's hidden inside the walls of that safe house."
