Chapter 5 - The Price of TruthThe study became a battlefield. Adrian fought with a savage, precise violence that left no room for error. He took out the security detail while Mara scrambled to the server tower in the corner of the room.
"I have the files!" she yelled over the sound of breaking glass and gunfire.
"Get out of here!" Adrian shouted, holding the doorway against a wave of reinforcements.
"I'm not leaving you!" Mara grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the balcony. "The perimeter is compromised! We have to jump!"
They leapt from the second-story balcony into the swimming pool below. The impact knocked the wind out of them, but they surfaced and scrambled toward the waiting black SUV that Nathan had pulled up to the gate.
"Drive!" Adrian commanded as they piled in.
They sped through the city, dodging police sirens that were converging on the mansion. It was only when they reached the safety of their hidden bunker that the reality of the situation hit them.
Adrian was bleeding from a graze on his shoulder. Mara was shaking, her dress torn and stained with dirt.
"We did it," she whispered, handing the encrypted drive to Nathan.
Adrian leaned against the wall, watching her. He reached out and touched her face, his thumb brushing away a smear of soot. "You’re incredible."
"We're not finished," she said. "The files need to go public. Now."
"If we do this, the city will burn," Adrian warned.
May you like
"Let it burn," Mara replied. "It’s the only way to build something new."
By morning, the files were leaked to every major news outlet. The scandal was immediate and devastating. Vane was arrested within hours, and the corruption that had plagued the city was finally exposed.
