Chapter 3

3: 3

When Christian finished dictating, he let out a soft laugh, then suddenly glanced up at the massive steel beam glowing red overhead, already sagging and about to give way.

A strange smile pulled at his mouth as he turned to Mia.

"Mia, that movable beam is almost burned through."

"One press of the button and it drops. It'll crush this whole place into rubble."

His eyes shifted back and forth.

"Or maybe I just let it fall. Give Leo a quick end. Saves us the trouble of anyone digging up something later."

Staring up at the huge burning beam, I felt terror cut straight to the bone for the first time, and I started to shake.

"Mia, that thing weighs tons! It comes down and the whole place caves in!"

"I'll be crushed to pieces, dying in agony! You'd really do that?!"

She saw the plea in my eyes, and her fingers curled in.

But just as she wavered, Christian's voice sharpened beside her.

"Mia! Have you forgotten you're carrying my child?"

"Once we're out we're getting married, and there's his fortune to inherit! People are bound to get suspicious!"

"If we don't destroy the body, what happens when they trace it back to us? Think about our future together!"

At that the hesitation left her eyes, replaced by a flicker of hard resolve, and she looked at me in silence.

"Leonard, go in peace. I'll bury you in the memorial grounds. Christian and I will visit you every week."

"I'm grateful for everything you did for me all these years. Christian and I will make good use of the inheritance you left. Your love for me... I'll always remember it. It's just that for the rest of my life, I'm walking forward with Christian."

Watching Christian rub her swollen belly, I felt my world collapse, and the tears wouldn't stop.

So everything I'd ever done, everything I'd given her, all the love I'd shown her... all of it had only paved the way for her and Christian to walk forward together.

The black smoke around me thickened. I sank slowly against the wall and felt for the escape hatch behind me.

I let that one thread of fresh air brush across my palm, and quietly closed my eyes.

"Let's move, now. I'm pressing the button, that main beam is coming down!"

In front of me, Christian took Mia's arm and drew her back toward the exit.

Watching the two of them hurry away, I clenched my jaw, turned without a sound, pried open the passage, and forced myself in.

The instant they reached the safety line, Christian pressed the button.

With a roar, the massive burning beam crashed down, slamming everything behind me into rubble.

The blast hurled me deep into the passage, and I clapped my hands over my ears, still shaking.

Outside the fire, the two of them gazed at the smoke and ash boiling up from the core of the blaze, and after a long while, an easy smile spread across their faces.