Chapter 19 - The Shattered Glass of Lake Geneva
The clock on the console ticked down with a mechanical chime: *00:45... 00:44...*
Maya was thrashing against the chains inside the cage, shaking her head violently at Julian. Even through the gag, her muffled screams were clear: *DON'T DO IT! SAVE CLARA!*
The lake water was already up to Maya’s chest inside the cage.
Julian’s eyes darted frantically between Clara, the control panel, and the ceiling. His mind, honed by years of high-stakes corporate warfare and split-second decisions, was running through every variable. There was no clean way out. Victoria held every card.
"Julian," Clara said softly, her voice suddenly devoid of panic. A cold, terrifying calm settled over her face.
Julian turned to look at his wife. "Clara, no..."
"She thinks I'm the same weak woman she pushed off that rooftop in Chicago," Clara whispered, stepping closer to Julian, her eyes locking onto his. "She thinks water is my weakness. She forgot that I already drowned once... and I crawled out of hell to bring my son into the world."
*00:20... 00:19...*
"What are you whispering?!" Victoria screamed, paranoia suddenly cracking her composed facade. "Julian! Choose, or I execute her right now!"
"I choose my family," Julian roared.
Julian didn't sprint for Lever A or Lever B. Instead, he swung his rifle around and fired three armor-piercing rounds directly into the massive high-pressure hydraulic pipe running along the boathouse wall!
The pipe ruptured with the sound of a cannon shot. Ten thousand pounds of pressurized hydraulic fluid erupted into Victoria’s face like a wall of liquid lead, blinding her instantly!
Victoria shrieked in agony, firing her Magnum blindly into the dark. The bullets ricocheted off the steel beams, sparking violently.
In that same split second, Clara didn't run for the exit. She sprinted across the metal gangway, diving directly off the edge of the platform and plunging into the freezing, pitch-black waters of the lake beside the descending cage!
"CLARA!" Julian yelled, dropping his rifle, tackling Victoria to the concrete floor before she could depress the detonator. They crashed against the control panel, smashing the glass dials, sending showers of blue sparks flying into the air.
Under the surface of the freezing water, the cold hit Clara like a thousand needles. But the paralyzing fear that had haunted her nightmares for twelve months was gone. She opened her eyes in the dark, murky water. She reached the submerged diving cage, pulling out the ceramic tactical knife she had hidden in her boot before they entered the boathouse.
Maya was fully submerged now, bubbles escaping her lips, her eyes rolling back as unconsciousness loomed.
Clara wedged the blade into the mechanical locking pin of the cage’s emergency hatch. Her lungs screamed for oxygen. The dark water felt like a crushing tomb. But Clara gripped the knife with both hands, using every ounce of her maternal fury, and twisted!
*SNAP!*
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The pin sheared. The heavy iron door swung open. Clara grabbed Maya by the tactical vest, kicking violently toward the faint shimmer of light on the surface.
***
