Chapter 20 - The Marine Gate
Julian pulled his encrypted smartphone from his tactical vest and swiped open the master facility application.
On the screen, a digital diagram of the cliffside marine cave appeared in sharp green wireframes.
With a single tap of his thumb, Julian engaged the offshore flood barriers.
Through the glass, Victoria heard the groaning metallic shriek of giant steel gates slamming shut half a mile down the tunnel.
Her escape route to the ocean was completely sealed.
Victoria dropped the duffel bag, rushing back to the ballistic glass panel, pounding on it with both fists.
"Open this door!" she screamed, her voice distorting through the intercom. "Open it right now, Julian!"
"There's nowhere left to run, Victoria," Julian said, watching her calmly. "You're trapped in your own vault."
Suddenly, the red emergency lights throughout the bunker flashed three times and turned blinding white.
The heavy roar of tactical boots echoed down the concrete corridor behind Julian.
A dozen federal tactical agents in full SWAT gear swept into the room, their weapons raised, led by Marcus's former federal prosecutor, Agent Vance Reynolds.
"Federal agents! Drop your weapons!" the squad leader barked.
Julian slowly raised his empty hands and stepped away from the door, his pistol already holstered.
"She’s behind the secondary vault barrier," Julian announced calmly. "She just confessed to the murder of Arthur Vance."
Agent Reynolds stepped forward, flashing his badge and looking through the glass at Victoria, who was now hyperventilating against the steel frame.
"We have audio surveillance tapped into your compound’s intercom system, Mrs. Vance," Agent Reynolds stated firmly. "Every word of your confession was recorded on federal servers."
Victoria stumbled backward into the darkness of the vault, her face devoid of color.
"We have cutting torches on the way, Mr. Vance," Reynolds told Julian, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Your wife and daughter are safe upstairs. The perimeter is fully secured."
Julian took a long, steady breath, feeling the crushing weight of twenty years of manipulation lifting from his chest.
"Cut her out," Julian said coldly. "And make sure she never sees daylight again."
Julian turned on his heel and walked away from the vault, leaving his mother trapped in the concrete tomb of her own making.
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He had won the war for Vance Global.
Or so he believed.
