Chapter 4 - The Mark of the Assassin
The entire estate was immediately placed on a strict, absolute lockdown.
Robert commanded his newly hired security team to patrol the perimeter with guard dogs.
He sat gently on the sofa next to Sam, asking the boy to describe the terrifying tattoo.
Sam nervously twisted his dirty fingers together, his brown eyes wide with lingering fear.
The child explained that the tattoo looked like a snake wrapped tightly around a bloody dagger.
Robert felt a sudden, sickening jolt in the very pit of his stomach.
He knew exactly what that highly specific, gruesome emblem represented.
It was the official insignia of a ruthless mercenary group he had hired a decade ago.
He had used them to quietly dismantle a corrupt rival corporation in South America.
Robert had paid them handsomely to disappear forever, but clearly, they had returned.
He realized the leader of the mercenaries, a man named Silas, was orchestrating this nightmare.
Elizabeth watched her husband's face pale and demanded to know what he was hiding.
Robert shamefully confessed his dark, corporate sins to his already furious wife.
He admitted he had bent the law to build his massive fortune when he was younger.
Elizabeth looked at him with profound disgust, realizing she never truly knew her husband.
She coldly stated that his past mistakes were now actively endangering all of their lives.
Robert vowed to fix everything and ensure that Sam was completely protected.
He picked up his encrypted cell phone and dialed the head of his personal security, Marcus.
Marcus had been Robert's most trusted bodyguard and confidant for over fifteen years.
Robert ordered Marcus to bring all available weapons from the hidden vault into the main house.
Ten minutes later, Marcus walked into the living room carrying two heavy tactical bags.
He dropped the bags onto the floor and asked Robert for the next set of orders.
As Marcus reached forward to hand Robert a loaded pistol, his suit sleeve rode up slightly.
Sam let out a piercing, terrified scream and scrambled violently backward over the sofa.
The boy pointed a shaking finger directly at Marcus's exposed right wrist.
There, clearly etched into the guard's skin, was the red tattoo of a snake and a dagger.
Robert froze, the heavy pistol feeling like a block of ice in his sweating hand.
His most trusted friend and protector was actually a sleeper agent for the mercenaries.
Marcus slowly looked down at his exposed wrist and let out a dark, menacing sigh.
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He casually raised his own weapon and pointed it directly at Elizabeth's head.
He smiled cruelly and told Robert to drop his gun, or his wife would die instantly.
