Chapter 7 - The Underground Search
The smell of damp earth and rotting metal filled the air.
Eleanor stumbled in the darkness, her bare feet bleeding on the jagged rocks of the abandoned subway tunnel.
Leo led the way, a small flashlight illuminating the graffiti-covered walls.
"Stay close to the wall," Leo whispered, his eyes scanning the shadows.
"There are tripwires everywhere."
Eleanor shivered, the cold dampness seeping into her bones.
"How did you live like this, Leo?"
"How did you survive?"
Leo didn't look back as he kept walking.
"I learned not to trust anyone who wears a suit."
They walked in silence for what felt like hours, descending deeper into the forgotten underbelly of the city.
Suddenly, Leo stopped and raised his hand.
Up ahead, a faint flickering light spilled out from an old maintenance room.
Leo crept forward, peering around the rusted metal doorframe.
Inside the room, Julian was tied to a chair, his face bruised and swollen.
Marcus sat across from him, cleaning a silver revolver with a dark cloth.
"Your father isn't going to pay, Julian," Marcus said smoothly.
"He cares more about his stock prices than your pulse."
Julian choked back a sob, looking utterly broken.
Eleanor couldn't hold it in anymore.
She burst through the doorway, rushing toward her tied-up son.
"Julian!"
Marcus didn't even look surprised.
He simply raised the silver revolver and pointed it directly at Eleanor's chest.
"Right on time, my dear."
Leo stepped into the light, his switchblade drawn, but he was vastly outgunned by the mercenaries stepping out of the shadows.
"Let them go, Marcus," Leo growled.
Marcus chuckled and checked his gold watch.
"I can't do that, Leo."
"Because Arthur isn't paying me to ransom Julian."
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Marcus smiled, a chilling expression that made the room feel even colder.
"Arthur paid me to bring you all down here, so he could bury the three of you in a tunnel collapse and collect the insurance money."
