Part 13: The Fatal Moment in the Basement
The cold metal of the barrel gleams in the dim light of the underground vault. Arthur de Witt laughs grimly, his finger resting dangerously light on the trigger. "You should have stayed away, boy. You should have been content with your poverty-stricken life. But you have the same stubbornness as your grandma... and now it's going to cost you." My heart pounds in my throat, but my mind remains strangely clear.
I stand with my back against the open steel vault, surrounded by decades of Vance family secrets. I know that if I move now, he will shoot. "Do you really think you'll get away with this, Arthur?" I say in a steady voice. "The police know I'm here. Inspector De Jong is already on his way to this office with a full tactical team." Arthur scoffs. "By the time they get here, you'll be at the bottom of the Herengracht, and this dossier will be official history." He flexes his finger.
The tension in the basement is palpable. But at that exact moment, a loud battering sound echoes from the stairs. The heavy emergency door of the office is forced open with brute force. Sirens wail loudly through the street outside, and Inspector De Jong's voice reverberates through the corridors: "Amsterdam Police! Hands up, everyone is surrounded!" Arthur's face pales for a fraction of a second. He hesitates... and that single second is enough. I throw myself sideways, right into the open vault, as a shot rings out through the space and the bullet strikes hard against the steel wall behind me.
