Chapter 1 - The Rat in the Walls
The heavy, metallic slam echoed through the floorboards, vibrating up through Julian’s Italian leather shoes.
Someone was running. Deep in the subterranean levels of Vance Manor.
Julian’s eyes didn't leave Marcus. The lawyer stood halfway up the grand staircase, his arrogance momentarily fractured by the sound of the slamming door.
"Don't move," Julian ordered, his voice a low, terrifying growl. He didn't yell. He didn't have to. The pure, lethal promise in his tone was enough to freeze the blood of everyone in the room.
Julian raised his phone again, hitting a single-digit speed dial.
"Bravo Team," Julian commanded. "Seal the estate. Absolute lockdown. No one leaves. No one enters. Lethal force authorized for anyone attempting to breach the perimeter. And send two men to the grand hall. I have a rat that needs caging."
He dropped the phone and turned to Elise. She was still shaking, her frail body shivering violently beneath the thin fabric of the maid’s uniform. Julian wanted to pull her into his arms, to shield her from the world, but he knew the sudden movement would only terrify her more.
"Who is down there, Elise?" Julian asked gently, keeping his distance. "Who else did this to you?"
Elise opened her cracked lips, but before she could speak, Marcus let out a desperate, forced laugh.
"She's delusional, Julian!" Marcus shouted, taking a step down the stairs. "Four years in isolation... her mind is gone. I did this to protect the company! To protect you! She was going to sell your patents to the highest bidder! She was going to—"
"Shut your mouth," Julian snapped, the sound cracking like a whip. "Or I will have my men wire your jaw shut."
Two heavily armed men in black tactical gear burst through the mahogany doors of the grand hall.
"Sir?" the team leader asked, his rifle lowered but ready.
"Take Marcus Thorne to the wine cellar," Julian ordered without looking away from his wife. "Zip-tie him to the steel racks. If he speaks, break his nose."
Marcus fought as the men grabbed him, his scotch glass shattering on the stairs. "Julian, you're making a mistake! The board will destroy you! I have the fail-safes! I have the codes!"
Julian ignored the screaming lawyer as he was dragged away into the shadows. He took a slow, agonizing step toward Elise.
"Who is running, Elise?" Julian repeated softly.
Elise squeezed her eyes shut. A single tear cut a track through the dirt on her cheek.
"Keller," she whispered.
Julian felt the air leave his lungs.
Keller. His head of security. The man who had personally led the global search for Elise. The man who had stood by Julian's side, analyzing satellite footage and interviewing mercenaries, all while keeping Elise chained in the dark beneath their feet.
May you like
Julian’s vision swam with red.
"Bravo Team," Julian said into his radio, his voice eerily hollow. "Keller is compromised. He is in the lower tunnels. Hunt him down. Bring him to me alive."
