Chapter 5 - The Floor That Did Not Exist
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The elevator display went dark, but the doors remained closed.
Robert grabbed the wall for balance.
“What was that?”
Victor looked down.
“A containment charge.”
Henrik stared at him.
“You say that as if you have seen one before.”
Victor did not answer.
The security officer forced his fingers between the elevator doors and pulled. With Robert’s help, he opened them several centimeters, revealing only a concrete shaft.
“The car has gone below the registered basement,” he said.
Marta knelt near the open control panel.
Behind the wiring, she noticed a small engraved symbol: a black triangle crossed by a silver line.
She had seen it on her mother’s papers.
“This company symbol existed before Robert’s company,” she said.
Victor finally spoke.
“It was the mark of Project Meridian.”
Robert turned sharply.
“My father used that name once. He said it was an abandoned research program.”
“It was not abandoned,” Victor replied. “It was hidden.”
Marta faced him.
“What was Project Meridian?”
Victor’s eyes remained on the elevator shaft.
“A private engineering network. Governments, construction firms, mining companies, defense contractors. They investigated unstable land, underground structures, and materials that could survive extreme pressure.”
Henrik frowned.
“That sounds like ordinary geological research.”
“It began that way.”
Victor’s voice lowered.
“Then Elena Kovacs discovered something beneath the southern site.”
Marta’s breath caught.
“What?”
Victor looked at her with something close to fear.
“A chamber that did not appear on any historical map.”
Robert shook his head.
“You expect us to believe an underground chamber caused all this?”
“No,” Victor said. “What was inside caused it.”
A grinding sound came from behind the elevator doors.
The car was rising again.
The security officer drew his weapon.
When the doors opened, the elevator was empty.
Blood covered one wall.
Marta stepped closer and saw David’s broken glasses on the floor.
The gray-suited woman was gone.
So was the key.
Henrik pointed toward the elevator panel.
A new button had appeared beneath the basement level.
It was marked M-19.
“Warehouse 19,” Marta whispered.
Victor entered the elevator.
“If David triggered the containment charge, then the lower archive may be collapsing.”
Robert hesitated.
“We should wait for the police.”
“The police will never reach this floor,” Victor replied. “Not until whoever controls the building decides they can.”
Marta stepped into the car.
“I am going down.”
Robert joined her, followed by Henrik and the security officer.
Victor pressed M-19.
The doors closed.
As the elevator descended, the walls began vibrating. The display showed no numbers, only a sequence of names.
Marta read them silently.
Engineers. Scientists. Executives.
Then her mother’s name appeared.
DR. ELENA KOVACS — STATUS: ACTIVE.
Before anyone could speak, the elevator stopped.
The doors opened onto a vast underground corridor.
At the far end stood David.
He was wounded, shaking, and holding Marta’s metal key.
Behind him, a woman waited in the shadows.
“Marta,” David said, struggling to breathe. “You need to listen before she sees you.”
The woman stepped into the light.
Marta’s knees nearly gave way.
May you like
She had her mother’s face.
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