Chapter 17 - The Trap is Set
The wind howled fiercely across St. Jude’s Point, driving dark waves crashing against the jagged black rocks eighty feet below. The old stone lighthouse stood like a lonely sentinel against the stormy gray sky, its beacon long dark.
A single matte-black SUV ground to a halt on the gravel road leading to the entrance.
Gabriel stepped out into the rain, wearing a long dark coat. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Nora. She wore a simple charcoal coat over dark trousers, her pale face calm despite the gale-force wind whipping her hair around her cheeks.
Three armed men in heavy oilskin coats emerged from the iron doors of the lighthouse, their weapons trained on Gabriel and Nora.
"Drop your sidearms on the hood!" one of the guards shouted over the roar of the ocean.
Gabriel slowly unholstered his custom pistol and laid it on the hood of the vehicle. Nora unclasped her small purse, showing she was unarmed, and set it down beside his weapon.
"Master Vane is waiting inside," the guard spat, gesturing with his barrel toward the dark stone archway. "Move."
They walked into the cold, damp interior of the lighthouse base. A spiral iron staircase descended deep into the rocky cliff face below. The air grew cold and smelled heavily of salt water, rust, and old concrete.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a vast subterranean bunker. Computer monitors hummed along the stone walls, broadcasting encrypted data streams. In the center of the room sat Julian Vane.
Julian was in his late thirties, with slicked-back hair, cold blue eyes, and a sharp, aristocratic face marred by a thin scar along his jawline. He was swirling a glass of amber whiskey, holding the stolen black leather ledger on his lap.
"Gabriel Costa," Julian sneered, leaning back in his leather chair. "And the famous bride. The fifty-thousand-dollar bargain. You really do look lovely, Nora, even stripped of your wedding silk."
Gabriel stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Nora. "You have the ledger, Julian. You've made your point. Leave the city, and I let you live."
Julian let out a shrill, hysterical laugh that echoed off the cold damp walls. "Let me live? Gabriel, you stripped my family of our wealth, our dignity, and our legacy! You murdered my father!"
"Your father died because he tried to execute three hundred innocent people in a harbor bombing," Gabriel replied, his voice dead calm. "He got the death he earned."
"And now I earn my vengeance!" Julian shouted, slamming his fist onto the armrest. "I have the ledger! In ten minutes, the automatic broadcast sequence will release every secret of your allies to the public press. Your foundation will crumble, your political puppets will go to prison, and the Costa name will be dragged through the mud!"
"What do you want, Julian?" Nora asked stepping into the light, her voice smooth and devoid of fear.
Julian looked at her, his eyes twisting with malicious glee. "I want to see Gabriel break. I want him to watch as I take everything from him—starting with you."
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Julian pulled a small remote detonator from his pocket, holding his thumb over the glowing red button.
"This detonator is linked to charges placed along the cliff face," Julian smirked. "One press, and this entire lighthouse collapses into the sea. I have a private submarine waiting in the lower sea cave. I leave... and you two drown in the dark."
