CHAPTER 9: THE FINAL TEST
Before Alex could speak, Veronika suddenly gasped violently. She clutched her chest, her face instantly draining of color as her mug of tea shattered against the hardwood floor.
"Veronika!" Alex dropped the poker and rushed to her side.
She was slumping forward, hyperventilating, her lips turning a faint, alarming shade of blue. "My... my heart..." she gasped out, her hand clawing weakly at her throat. "The medicine... in the safe... in my bedroom..."
Alex panicked. He dragged her gently onto the flat rug, elevating her head. "Hold on! I'll get it!"
He sprinted up the stairs and burst into her master bedroom. Sitting on the nightstand was the heavy steel biometric safe, its electronic door sitting completely wide open.
Inside the safe lay two things: a small glass bottle of emergency cardiac medication, and beside it, an unzipped velvet pouch containing $10 million worth of uncut, certified conflict-free diamonds, alongside a blank Swiss passport with Alex’s photo already printed inside it.
Alex stood paralyzed in front of the open safe.
Midnight was only ten minutes away. If Veronika died right now of a genuine medical emergency, the police would investigate, but the thermal camera records showed she was fine an hour ago. He could grab the velvet pouch of diamonds, take the blank passport, slip out through the garage on a snowmobile, and cross the border into Liechtenstein before sunrise. He would be rich, free, and completely untraceable.
Or he could grab the medicine, save the woman he had once tried to murder, and face a lifetime in prison when the police arrived to enforce his original sentence.
Downstairs, the sound of Veronika’s agonizing gasps grew weaker.
Alex stared at the sparkling diamonds. Then he looked at the small glass pill bottle.
He gritted his teeth, swore loudly under his breath, and snatched the pill bottle, leaving the diamonds untouched. He sprinted back down the grand staircase, sliding on his knees next to Veronika’s prone body.
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"Veronika! Open your mouth! Take this!" Alex yelled, his hands shaking frantically as he popped two tablets under her tongue and forced her to swallow a splash of water from a clean glass on the table.
When she didn't immediately respond, Alex began performing CPR, pressing down on her chest with rhythm and force, tears blurring his vision. "Come on! Breathe! Don't you dare die on me! Breathe!"
