Chapter 3 - The Enemy Within
Adrian’s blood ran cold, but his face remained an unreadable, stony mask.
He had survived in the brutal criminal underworld by never showing his true hand too early.
He forced a confused smile, acting as if Emma’s accusation was just the hysterical rambling of a stressed maid.
Adrian calmly told Marcus that the woman was simply having a mental breakdown from overwork.
He ordered the security chief to put his weapon away and return to his patrol route.
Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second, his dark eyes studying Adrian for any sign of deception.
Eventually, the towering man holstered his gun and offered a polite, hollow nod before leaving the room.
As soon as the footsteps faded away, Adrian locked the door and turned back to Emma.
He warned her in a harsh whisper that she must never react like that again if she wanted to live.
Marcus commanded an army of private mercenaries, and Adrian was currently just a man in a wheelchair.
If Marcus realized his treason had been discovered, he would slaughter everyone in the mansion before dawn.
Adrian needed time to formulate a flawless plan to dismantle the traitor's power from the inside.
He officially promoted Emma to be his personal assistant, moving her and the children into the secure master wing.
The sudden favoritism immediately raised alarms among the heavily armed security staff.
Marcus watched the new arrangements with intense, mounting suspicion, realizing Adrian might know the truth.
Meanwhile, Adrian locked himself in his private gym every single night when the mansion was asleep.
He endured excruciating, blinding pain as he secretly forced his atrophied legs to bear weight.
The miraculous sensation that Lily had sparked in the garden was slowly growing into real, physical strength.
He used parallel bars to pull himself up, sweating and bleeding as he retrained his broken body to stand.
Outside the gym, the tension in the mansion thickened like a storm about to break.
Marcus decided he could no longer wait to seize control of the billionaire's vast empire.
He cornered twelve-year-old Noah in the laundry room, pinning the terrified boy against the washing machines.
Marcus pulled a small, unmarked glass vial of clear liquid from his tactical vest.
He shoved the vial into Noah’s trembling hands, delivering a sick and twisted ultimatum.
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Marcus revealed that his men had located Noah’s hidden younger sister at a foster home in San Diego.
He promised to torture the little girl if Noah did not pour the poison into Adrian’s evening tea.
