Chapter 5 - THE RED BUTTON
The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway seemed to magnify, echoing like a heartbeat through the silent, terrified dining room.
Margaret Vance stood perfectly still, her thumb resting lightly on the red detonator button.
"Nobody moves," she commanded, her voice devoid of any human emotion.
Daniel, Luca's head of security, slowly lowered his weapon. His eyes darted to Luca, waiting for a command, but Luca held his hand up, signaling his men to stand down.
"Four pounds of C4," Luca repeated, his voice unnervingly calm. "You really think you can blow up my house and walk away, Margaret? The police will be here in minutes. The blast radius alone will trap you."
"I don't plan on walking away immediately," Margaret smiled coldly. "I plan on walking out the service entrance during the chaos. My private jet is waiting at Midway. By the time they dig your bodies out of the rubble, I'll be in Geneva."
I stood frozen behind a heavy oak chair, my knees trembling so violently I thought I might collapse.
My father, still kneeling on the floor, looked up at Margaret with wide, panicked eyes.
"Please," my father begged, his voice cracking. "Let Hannah go. She doesn't know anything. She's just a maid!"
Margaret looked at me, her eyes sweeping over my uniform and the silver locket still hanging around my neck.
"She's wearing the evidence, David," Margaret sneered. "And she knows too much. She stays."
Elias Vance, still slumped in his chair, slowly raised his head. His face was stained with tears, his expression a mixture of profound grief and sudden, terrifying realization.
"You're a monster, Margaret," Elias whispered.
"I'm a survivor, Elias," she retorted. "You were a stepping stone. Antonio was a mistake. I fixed the mistake."
She turned her attention back to Luca.
"Now, Luca. I want you to instruct your guards to drop their weapons and slide them across the floor. Slowly."
Luca didn't move. His dark eyes were locked on the detonator.
"Do it, Daniel," Luca ordered quietly.
Daniel hesitated for a fraction of a second before placing his handgun on the marble floor and kicking it toward Margaret. The other two guards followed suit.
"Good," Margaret said, her smile widening. "Now, Vanessa, bring me the ledger."
Vanessa, who had been trembling near the table, flinched.
"Me?" she whimpered.
"Bring it to me," Margaret commanded, her thumb pressing slightly harder on the button. "Or I press this right now."
Vanessa let out a terrified sob. She picked up the heavy leather ledger and walked slowly, shaking uncontrollably, toward Margaret.
I watched Vanessa’s high heels click against the marble floor.
I watched the ledger in her hands.
And then, my eyes darted to something else.
Behind Margaret, resting on a silver serving cart near the service doors, was the tray I had dropped earlier. The heavy silver platter that had clattered to the floor when Vanessa first accused me.
But it wasn't the tray that caught my attention.
It was what was sitting next to it.
A large, crystal pitcher filled with ice water.
My mind raced.
Margaret’s detonator wasn't military grade. It was a cheap, remote radio frequency trigger. My father, the mechanic, had taught me about electrical components when I was a teenager helping in the garage.
Water shorts out cheap electronics.
If I could drench the detonator before she pressed the button, the signal wouldn't reach the basement.
But I was fifteen feet away. I would never make it in time.
I looked at Luca.
He was watching Margaret, but his eyes were darting around the room, analyzing every possible angle.
He looked at me.
For one split second, our eyes met.
I didn't speak. I didn't nod. I just let my eyes flick toward the silver cart behind Margaret, then back to him.
Luca’s expression didn't change, but a microscopic tightening of his jaw told me he understood.
Vanessa reached Margaret. She held out the ledger, tears streaming down her face.
"Take it," Vanessa sobbed. "Just let us go."
Margaret reached out with her free hand to take the heavy book.
"You always were a pathetic, weak girl, Vanessa," Margaret sneered.
At that exact moment, Luca moved.
He didn't lunge at Margaret. He lunged at Vanessa.
He grabbed Vanessa by the shoulder and violently shoved her backward. Vanessa screamed, her arms flailing, and she collided hard with Margaret.
Margaret stumbled, her balance broken.
The ledger fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
I didn't think. I just ran.
I sprinted toward the silver cart, my maid’s uniform catching on a chair, but I ripped it free.
Margaret regained her balance, fury erupting on her face. She raised the detonator, her thumb pressing down hard on the red button.
I grabbed the heavy crystal pitcher.
I didn't throw the water. I threw the entire pitcher.
The heavy crystal smashed directly into Margaret’s raised hand.
The pitcher shattered. Ice and water exploded across her hand and the detonator.
Margaret screamed in pain as the heavy glass cut her knuckles.
She frantically pushed the red button again and again.
Click. Click. Click.
Nothing happened.
The water had shorted the internal battery.
Daniel didn't wait. He charged forward, tackling Margaret to the ground. He pinned her arms behind her back, wrenching the useless detonator from her bleeding hand.
"Clear the house!" Luca roared, pulling me backward, shielding my body with his own. "Daniel, secure her! Everyone else, out!"
Panic erupted.
The remaining guards grabbed Elias and my father, dragging them toward the front doors.
Luca kept his arm tightly around my waist, rushing me through the grand foyer and out into the freezing Chicago night.
We burst through the front doors just as sirens began to wail in the distance.
The cold air hit my face, and my knees finally gave out. I collapsed onto the wet grass of the front lawn, gasping for air.
Luca dropped to his knees beside me.
"Hannah," he breathed, his hands gently holding my face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, tears of pure adrenaline and relief spilling down my cheeks.
"I'm okay," I choked out. "I'm okay."
Luca pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest. I could hear his heart pounding like a drum against my ear.
"You saved us," Luca whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "You saved my entire family."
I clung to his jacket, the smell of his expensive cologne mixing with the cold night air.
Suddenly, a loud, terrified scream echoed from the front steps of the mansion.
We both pulled back and looked up.
Vanessa was standing on the porch, her red satin dress ruined, pointing a shaking finger back toward the open front doors.
"He went back inside!" Vanessa screamed hysterically. "He ran past the guards!"
Luca scrambled to his feet. "Who?!"
"Elias!" Vanessa cried. "He ran back into the house!"
Luca swore violently.
He turned toward the house, but before he could take a step, a massive, deafening explosion ripped through the night.
It wasn't the basement.
The explosion blew out the entire second-floor master suite.
Flames erupted from the shattered windows, painting the dark sky orange. Glass and debris rained down onto the manicured lawn.
I screamed, covering my head as a piece of burning wood landed mere feet from us.
Luca shielded me, staring up at the burning second floor in absolute horror.
Margaret hadn't wired the basement.
She had wired his mother's bedroom.
"Why?" I gasped, terrified. "Why the bedroom?"
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Luca's face was a mask of cold, terrifying realization.
"Because that's where my mother kept the safe," Luca whispered. "And Elias knew exactly what was inside it."
