The meeting had finished, and the Benetti family, along with their associates, began to make their way to the waiting cars outside the hotel. The sun had fully risen now, spreading a warm, golden light across the Paris skyline.
Claire walked a few steps behind Lucas, fiddling with the strap of her purse as she looked around, though her thoughts wandered.
They reached the cars, the cool afternoon air giving a nice break from the stuffy meeting. The city buzzed around them, nothing too exciting, just another day in Paris.
And then, without warning, a deafening explosion tore through the air.
The car directly behind theirs went up in flames, the deafening roar of the blast sending the group stumbling backwards. Claire's heart raced in her chest as the shockwave hit them, the heat of the explosion scorching the air around her.
