Chapter 5 - The Inside Man
Panic surged through my veins like ice water.
I tore the bathroom apart, shaking out every towel and checking every corner, but the medallion was gone.
Someone had been in the room while I was in the shower.
I quickly dressed in the clean clothes provided in the closet and bolted out into the hallway.
I found Bellamy in the main living room, pouring a glass of scotch while studying a massive architectural blueprint on the table.
"The key is gone," I blurted out, my voice trembling with fear and accusation.
Bellamy froze, slowly turning to face me with a look of absolute, terrifying fury.
"What do you mean it's gone?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave.
"I left it in my uniform pocket while I showered, and someone took it," I explained rapidly.
Bellamy immediately reached for his radio earpiece.
"Vivienne, lock down the entire perimeter, nobody leaves this house," he ordered sharply.
He turned back to me, his blue eyes scanning my face for any sign of deception.
"Only three people have access to this floor: you, me, and Vivienne," he stated grimly.
"I didn't take it," I defended myself instinctively.
"I know you didn't," he replied, walking toward a hidden wall panel.
He punched in a code, and the panel slid open to reveal a wall of security monitors.
He rewound the hallway footage outside my bedroom from the last twenty minutes.
We watched in stunned silence as one of his own security men—the one who had survived the restaurant shootout—slipped quietly into my room.
"Marcus," Bellamy growled, recognizing his trusted bodyguard.
"He must have sold us out to Victor," I realized, feeling a deep sense of betrayal on Bellamy's behalf.
"He didn't just steal the key," Bellamy pointed to another monitor showing the underground garage.
Marcus was seen planting a small, blinking device on the support pillar of the foundation.
"He planted C-4 explosives," Bellamy realized, the color draining slightly from his face.
"He is going to bury us alive before Victor even gets here."
Suddenly, the security monitors flickered and died, plunging the house into complete darkness.
The heavy steel shutters over the windows slammed shut automatically, locking us entirely inside.
A chilling voice echoed through the house's intercom system.
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"You really should have paid me more, Bellamy," Marcus mocked over the speakers.
"You have exactly three minutes before this house becomes your tomb."
