Chapter 5: B: The Lights Go Out

👉 [Previous Decision]: You chose Option B – Try to erase the surveillance server logs on the vault computer first.

“Marcus knows Sam is coming,” I told Chloe, my mind racing. “He probably has all his surveillance logs here. We need to delete them.”

I rushed to the main computer in the vault, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. “If we can erase the last few hours, he won’t have proof of us breaking in, or Sam’s texts.”

Chloe stood by the vault door, nervously watching the hallway. “Hurry, Maya!”

“Just a few more seconds,” I muttered, navigating through folders. The system was complex, clearly designed to be tamper-proof.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, then plunged the entire basement into complete darkness. A low growl of frustration came from Marcus outside the vault.

“He cut the power,” Chloe whispered, her voice trembling. “From the breaker box!”

The emergency light in the vault room, a small LED on the ceiling, cast long, distorted shadows. I fumbled for my phone. No signal. The surveillance monitors flickered once, then died.

The heavy vault door creaked open. Marcus stood silhouetted against the faint emergency light from the hallway, a heavy wrench in his hand. His eyes, though barely visible in the dim light, were fixed on me.

“Give me the watch, Maya,” he said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble. “And the receipt.”

He was inside the vault before I could even take a step back. The wrench in his hand gleamed faintly.