Chapter 13 - The Mask Falls
Arthur pressed a small red button hidden behind the vault door's iron frame.
A deafening security alarm immediately blared through the basement, flashing intense red strobe lights.
Heavy steel shutters slammed down over the basement exit, sealing the entire room in a metal cage.
"What did you do?!" Julian yelled, raising the revolver higher.
"This basement is a fallout shelter," Arthur laughed maniacally, the red lights illuminating his sinister face.
"And the private security team I hire will be here in less than two minutes."
"They don't carry police badges."
"They carry assault rifles."
"And they clean up my messes without asking questions."
Maria grabbed Emily's arm, pulling her close as the flashing red light painted the dark room in blood-colored hues.
"We have to open that vault!" Maria shouted over the blaring siren.
"The blueprints said there's an emergency escape shaft inside it!"
Julian stepped toward Arthur, pressing the cold barrel of the revolver against Arthur's forehead.
"Open the vault, Arthur," Julian commanded coldly.
"Or I pull this trigger right now."
Arthur stared down the barrel of the gun without blinking.
"Go ahead," Arthur spat viciously.
"Shoot me."
"You still won't get the code."
"And Emily will die in this steel box when my men cut the oxygen lines."
Emily pushed herself past Maria, stepping directly in front of the man she had called her husband for three years.
She looked closely at his face under the harsh, flashing red lights.
She noticed a small, pale scar running along his jawline that had never been there before.
Her eyes widened in absolute, soul-crushing terror as a horrific memory surfaced in her mind.
"You're... not Arthur," Emily whispered, her voice trembling violently.
Julian and Maria froze, turning to look at her in utter confusion.
"What are you talking about, Emily?" Julian asked, keeping his gun trained on the man.
"He isn't my husband," Emily cried out, tears of horror flooding her eyes.
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"My husband had a birthmark behind his left ear!"
"This man killed Arthur three years ago and took his place!"
