Chapter 4 - The Estranged Brother
Lily panicked and aggressively thrashed against the strong grip, utterly convinced that another mercenary had managed to ambush her from behind.
A calm, deep voice whispered frantically into her ear, begging her to stop fighting and remain absolutely silent.
The mysterious figure slowly released his hand, allowing Lily to turn around and see a tall man dressed in dark tactical clothing.
Even in the dim, shadowy light of the library, the striking facial resemblance to her billionaire boss was completely undeniable.
The man introduced himself as Julian Blackwood, Victor's estranged younger brother who had supposedly been living in exile in Europe for years.
Julian silently signaled for Lily to follow him, gently guiding her toward a hidden wooden panel cleverly disguised as a bookshelf.
He pressed a secret mechanism, causing the wall to smoothly slide open and reveal a narrow, dusty maintenance corridor hidden within the walls.
They slipped inside just as Marcus aggressively rounded the corner, firing a suppressed bullet into the empty space where Lily had been crouching seconds ago.
The hidden door clicked shut, plunging them into total darkness as Julian quickly turned on a small, red tactical light.
He quietly explained that he had never trusted Serena, having spent the last six months secretly investigating her mysterious, undocumented past.
Julian had infiltrated the mansion tonight to warn Victor, but he arrived just as the security feed went completely dead.
He led Lily and Ethan through the tight, cobweb-filled passages, expertly navigating the secret labyrinth his grandfather had built decades ago.
They finally reached a small ventilation grate that looked directly down into the main security control room on the ground floor.
Lily gasped in pure horror when she looked through the metal slats and saw the terrifying scene unfolding below them.
Victor was tightly bound to a heavy metal chair in the center of the room, his face bruised and bleeding from a recent beating.
Marcus stood over him with a vicious combat knife, demanding the master override code for the mansion's subterranean vault.
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Serena stood nearby with her silver revolver, casually checking her makeup in a compact mirror as if nothing was wrong.
Marcus warned Victor that if he did not provide the exact code within ten seconds, he would begin cutting off his fingers one by one.
