Chapter 7 - THE RACE AGAINST TIME
The high-pitched whine of the flatline monitor pierced through the shattered glass like an icy needle in Daniel’s brain.
“NO!” Daniel roared.
He swung the heavy fire axe again, clearing the jagged shards from the frame, and dove through the opening into the pitch-black room. The air was thick with the ozone smell of fried electronics and depleted oxygen tanks.
Eleanor lay on the bed, unmoving. Her skin was deathly pale, her lips tinged with blue, her chest completely still.
“Eleanor! Eleanor, look at me!” Daniel cried, dropping to his knees beside the bed.
He tore off the non-responsive electronic respirator mask and immediately tilted her head back, beginning chest compressions. One. Two. Three. Four. He leaned down, sealing his lips over hers, forcing air into her collapsed lungs.
Agent Miller leaped through the shattered window behind him, carrying a portable tactical defibrillator unit. “Stand back, Mr. Carter!”
“Clear!” Miller shouted, slamming the shock pads onto Eleanor’s chest.
Her body jolted against the mattress.
The monitor remained silent for three agonizing seconds.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
BEEP.
A faint, irregular pulse flickered across the portable screen.
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP.
Eleanor gasped, a shuddering breath rattling in her throat. Her eyelids fluttered, heavy and disoriented. As the emergency backup generator of the building finally kicked in, white fluorescent light flooded the room.
Her hazel eyes slowly focused on the soot-stained, tear-streaked face hovering above her.
“Dan... iel?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Daniel broke down, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his tears soaking into the hospital gown. “I’m here, El. I’m here. I’m so sorry... God, I’m so sorry I took so long.”
“Lily...” Eleanor’s weak fingers weakly grasped the fabric of his torn shirt. “Where is my baby?”
“She’s safe. She’s outside right now,” Daniel choked out, kissing her forehead over and over. “She saved you, Eleanor. Lily saved you.”
Medical teams swarmed the room, transferring Eleanor to a portable trauma stretcher to transport her to the top medical center in Manhattan.
As they rolled Eleanor out through the main lobby, the front doors opened.
Lily stood at the threshold, holding Agent Miller’s hand.
For a long, breathtaking moment, mother and daughter stared across the room at each other through the bright lights. Lily’s dirty boots took one hesitant step forward, then another, before she broke into a sprint, crying out with pure, unfiltered joy:
“MOMMY!”
Eleanor reached out from the stretcher with both arms, pulling Lily into a fierce, weeping embrace that erased two years of darkness and isolation in a single moment.
Daniel stood beside them, wrapping his arms around both of them, finally complete.
But as Agent Miller walked up to Daniel’s side, his expression was grim. He held up a secure satellite phone.
“Mr. Carter,” Miller murmured in a low voice. “We have a critical problem.”
Daniel looked up, his protective instincts instantly flaring. “What is it?”
Miller handed him the phone. “Victoria’s transport convoy was ambushed on Interstate 87 ten minutes ago. She didn't work alone. Her overseas syndicate just broke her out of federal custody, and they’ve hacked Carter Global’s central security mainframe.”
Cliffhanger:
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Daniel listened to the phone receiver, where Victoria’s cold, mocking voice whispered over the speaker:
“Did you really think this was over, Daniel? Check the vault in your Manhattan penthouse. I’m taking everything.”
