Chapter 13 - The Blackout Strategy
Sarah turned to the main electrical panel on the wall, her fingers flying over a series of heavy industrial switches.
"What are you doing?" Evelyn asked, watching her frantically.
"The electronic locks on the doors run on a fail-secure protocol," Sarah explained rapidly, her voice filled with technical precision. "If the main power cuts out, the backup battery holds the locks closed for sixty seconds. But if I bridge the main capacitor bus directly to the ground wire, it will trigger an overload. The entire system will crash, and every door in this house will instantly pop open."
"Including the front door?" Evelyn pressed.
"Including the front door," Sarah confirmed, looking back at Evelyn with fierce eyes. "You take your daughter and you run for the front gates. I will handle Ethan."
"No!" Evelyn said, stepping forward. "Come with us! You can be free, Sarah!"
Sarah shook her head softly, a sad, peaceful smile touching her lips. "I've been dead for seven years, Evelyn. I don't want freedom. I want justice."
CRACK!
The steel door frame groaned violently as Ethan drove the crowbar deeper into the gap. The metal around the deadbolt began to warp, peeling back from the frame.
"He's almost through!" Evelyn shouted, grabbing Lily into her arms once more.
Sarah grabbed two heavy copper jumper cables resting on the bench, clamping one end to the high-voltage bus bar inside the gray breaker box. She looked at Evelyn one last time.
"Get ready to run," Sarah commanded.
She slammed the secondary clamp onto the exposed ground wire.
SPARK! BANG!
A blinding flash of blue electrical light exploded from the breaker box, filling the utility room with a deafening pop and a thick cloud of white smoke. The sound of high-voltage arc fire hummed violently through the walls.
May you like
Instantly, every light in the Vance estate went dark. The server racks died, their LED lights vanishing into absolute blackness.
Throughout the house, a series of heavy, mechanical CLICKS echoed simultaneously as every electronic lock, magnetic latch, and steel security shutter disengaged at once.
