The tarmac at the private airfield shimmered under the blistering heat, creating a mirage-like distortion that mirrored the fragile, artificial reality Isabella Vance had cultivated for over a decade. It was a sterile, gray stage—isolated from the rest of the world, designed specifically for the arrival of the city’s most influential billionaire, Julian Vance. Isabella stood at the edge of the asphalt, her posture radiating the kind of brittle, inherited entitlement that only comes from a lifetime of being told the world was hers to command. She was clad in a designer dress that cost more than most people earned in a year, and her oversized sunglasses shielded eyes that were sharp, predatory, and perpetually scanning for any sign of defiance.

Isabella's face contorted into a mask of absolute, terrifying desperation.

"This is a trick!" she screamed at the monitor, her hands shaking violently.

"You are a dying old man, Julian, and I control the board of directors!"

Julian offered a cold, pitying smile from the digital screen.

"The board of directors just reviewed the footage of you bombing my decoy plane," Julian replied smoothly.

"Your accounts are frozen, your empire is gone, and the police are waiting in the lobby."

Isabella snapped entirely, her mind shattering under the weight of her absolute failure.

She turned the silenced pistol away from the screen and aimed it directly at the space between Maya's eyes.

"If I am going to prison, I am taking the precious Vance heir down with me!" Isabella screamed.

Before she could pull the trigger, a heavy combat boot kicked the gun completely out of her hand.

Carter burst into the vault, his left arm wrapped in a bloody bandage, but his right hand holding a heavy assault rifle.

He slammed the butt of the rifle into Isabella's stomach, dropping her to her knees in agony.

"I thought I told you I play for the highest bidder," Carter growled, kicking Isabella's pistol across the room.

Maya let out a massive sigh of relief, thanking Carter with a tired smile.

Carter kept his rifle aimed perfectly at Isabella's head.

"Get up, Isabella, and walk to the corner of the room," Carter ordered harshly.

Isabella coughed violently, clutching her ribs as she stumbled backward.

Instead of cowering, she let out a dark, breathless laugh that echoed unnervingly in the concrete box.

She reached into the neckline of her white gown and pulled out a small, black remote control.

"You forgot that I was the one who oversaw the construction of this building," Isabella whispered with a bloody smile.

She pressed the single red button on the remote.

The heavy steel door of the vault instantly slammed shut behind Carter with a deafening metallic crash.

Thick steel lockdown bolts violently engaged, sealing them entirely inside the concrete tomb.

The Clumsy Maid Bathed His Dog—Then The Mafia Boss Said She Wasn’t Leavi...

She found her husband with another woman and walked away so quietly that...

The Mafia Boss Asked a Disabled Widow If She Was Okay

The digital panel above the door flashed red, displaying an oxygen depletion warning.

"We are all going to die in here together," Isabella laughed hysterically.

Chapter 8 - The Lockdown