Chapter 8 - The Ascent
The HVAC maintenance shaft was dark, narrow, and smelled faintly of old dust and warm copper.
Alexander hoisted himself up into the vertical metal chute first, extending a hand down to pull Emma up behind him. Together, they climbed the rusted iron ladder rung by rung, hauling themselves upward through the dark belly of the fifty-story skyscraper.
For Emma, it felt like an adventure straight out of the library books she loved so much—climbing a castle tower to rescue a kingdom. For Alexander, every muscle in his body ached from the previous night’s beating, but sheer adrenaline kept him moving.
After what felt like hours of climbing, Alexander pushed open a heavy spring-loaded floor vent at the top of the shaft.
Cool, conditioned air rushed over them.
Alexander peered out into the darkness. They were inside the private walk-in supply closet of his own executive penthouse office.
He pushed the vent cover entirely aside, slipping out into the carpeted office first, then reaching down to pull Emma up safely behind him.
The penthouse was breathtaking. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered a panoramic view of the Detroit skyline sparkling beneath the afternoon sun. Polished mahogany desks, leather armchairs, and expensive modern art filled the sprawling space.
But Alexander didn't have time to admire his office.
Through the glass partition of his private office, he could see the main boardroom down the hall. Through the frosted glass, he could see the silhouette of Marcus Sterling standing at the head of the conference table, addressing the board of directors.
“As acting chairman,” Marcus’s amplified voice echoed faintly through the intercom speakers, “I move that we proceed with the emergency liquidation vote immediately, given that Mr. Vance’s tragic disappearance leaves us no alternative—”
“Not so fast, Marcus,” Alexander whispered to himself.
He rushed over to the custom wood-paneled wall behind his mahogany desk. He pressed his palm against a biometric scanner set into the grain of the wood, and entered a six-digit numerical code on a hidden keypad.
With a soft, pneumatic hiss, a heavy steel wall safe swung open.
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Inside sat a small, black encrypted flash drive—the offline master key containing every financial audit, merger block, and incriminating corporate paper trail linking Marcus Sterling to embezzlement and hostile sabotage.
Alexander snatched the drive from the safe just as the heavy oak doors of his penthouse office clicked open.
