Chapter 14 - The Unseen Shadow
Julian felt the cold dread return, seizing the base of his neck. ""What do you mean? You arrested Eleanor’s convoy.""
Harris shook his head slowly, tapping the glass screen of his device. ""Eleanor only hired two men for the interior extraction—the two you neutralized in the library. The three armored SUVs that rammed the south gate... they weren't hers.""
Julian grabbed Claire’s arm, his voice dropping to a frantic whisper. ""Where are the vehicles now?""
""Empty,"" Harris said, motioning toward the outer terrace where flashing red and blue lights painted the trees. ""The drivers abandoned them in the courtyard. Engine blocks still warm, weapons left on the seats. They didn't come to extract Eleanor. They came for something else.""
Julian’s mind raced through the layout of the estate. The nursery. The master safe. The bunker.
Then it hit him like an electric shock.
The estate's private server farm beneath the carriage house—the nexus that routed all private communications, foreign security feeds, and offshore family trust archives for the past forty years.
""Marcus,"" Julian breathed, his eyes widening. ""Where is Marcus?""
""We found the balustrade on the grand staircase,"" Harris replied grimly, pulling a handheld radio from his vest. ""The zip-ties were cut from the outside with surgical shears. Marcus is gone.""
A sudden high-frequency squeal pierced every speaker throughout the ruined mansion. The intercom system, thought dead after the power surge, whined back to life with a deafening hum.
A heavy, measured breathing came over the line—not Marcus’s panicked wheeze, and not Eleanor’s sharp aristocratic voice.
It was a voice Julian hadn't heard in twelve years. Deep, gravelly, and laced with absolute authority.
""You did well, Julian,"" the voice rumbled through the darkened halls. ""You cleared the board for me. Eleanor was becoming too loud, and Marcus was always too weak.""
Claire gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes wide with unadulterated terror. ""Father...?""
""Arthur Vance died in a plane crash over the Atlantic,"" Julian whispered, feeling the room tilt beneath his feet.
May you like
""A convenient administrative fiction, son,"" the voice replied with a low, chilling chuckle. ""Thank you for unlocking the vault. My extraction team has what they came for. I’ll be seeing you soon.""
The line went dead.
