Chapter 2 - The Lockdown
"Kill the audio! Cut the power!" Victor Blackwood roared from the front pew, his face purple with rage.
The screens went black, but the damage was done. Pandemonium erupted. Socialites screamed, dropping champagne flutes. Reporters who had been invited for an exclusive spread pulled out their phones, instantly live-streaming the chaos.
Marcus wiped a scratch on his cheek from the orchids, his eyes burning with lethal fury. "You stupid bitch. You just signed your own death warrant."
He signaled to the private security team lining the walls. These weren't standard guards; they were Blackwood fixers. "Lock the doors! Nobody leaves this room! Grab her!"
Two massive men in suits charged the altar.
Seraphina braced herself, but before the guards could reach her, a shadow detached itself from the side corridor. Julian Vance, the head of Sinclair Manor’s security—and Leo Croft’s former military brother-in-arms—stepped in front of her.
Julian didn't hesitate. He drove his elbow into the throat of the first guard and swept the legs out from under the second, drawing his sidearm in a fluid, terrifyingly precise motion.
"Get behind me, Sera," Julian growled, aiming his weapon at Marcus.
"Julian?" Seraphina gasped.
"Leo told me to watch your back if anything ever happened to him," Julian said, his eyes scanning the room. "Looks like he was right."
"Shoot them both!" Victor Blackwood screamed.
"I wouldn't," Seraphina warned, holding up her phone. "This flash drive was just a prop. The real files are on a dead-man's switch. If my heart rate drops to zero, or if I don't enter a passcode every twelve hours, the full Blackwood financial ledger goes directly to the SEC, the FBI, and the New York Times. You'll all die in prison."
Marcus froze. Victor clenched his fists.
May you like
"Run," Julian ordered.
He threw a smoke grenade—smuggled in for this exact contingency—onto the marble floor. Thick, white phosphorus smoke flooded the altar. Amidst the screams and the blinding fog, Julian grabbed Seraphina’s hand and dragged her into the service corridors of the manor.
