Chapter 4 - The Iron Cage
""You called them,"" Ryan said, his voice deadly low as he shielded Clara and Leo behind his tall frame. ""You didn't call an ambulance. You called your own mercenaries.""
""This estate is private property,"" Eleanor replied smoothly, brushing dust from her sleeve as though brushing away an annoying insect. ""I called security to report a domestic disturbance. A violent outburst from an estranged husband, provoked by an emotionally unstable mother who endangered our heir. Do you think the local authorities will take the word of two runaways over Eleanor Sterling?""
Clara looked up, her tear-stained face turning white again. ""She’s going to lock us in, Ryan. She’s going to take him while he’s too weak to move.""
""Pack his medicine and the spare canister from the bathroom cabinet,"" Ryan ordered without looking back at his wife. His voice was calm now, stripped of all panic, replaced by the lethal focus of a man who had nothing left to lose. ""Do it right now.""
Clara scrambled to her feet, scooping Leo into her arms, and rushed into the adjacent en-suite.
Eleanor let out a sharp, mocking laugh. ""You can't leave through the gates, Ryan. Marcus has the perimeter locked down. Every exit requires my biometric override. You have nowhere to run, no vehicle, and outside these walls, a storm is washing out the only mountain pass.""
Ryan stepped forward until he was towering over his mother. For the first time in his life, he saw a flicker of hesitation flash behind her cold eyes. He leaned down, his voice vibrating with absolute conviction. ""I don't need a vehicle to tear this place apart, Eleanor. And I don't need your permission to protect my family.""
""You are nothing without my name!"" Eleanor hissed, her mask of aristocratic composure slipping into sheer spite. ""You would be a broken mechanic in a gutter if I hadn't brought you back into this house!""
""Then watch what a mechanic does with your precious legacy,"" Ryan growled.
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He didn't wait for her reply. Ryan grabbed Eleanor’s wrist, twisting it just enough to reach the master keycard tethered to her inner cuff. Eleanor gasped, trying to claw at his eyes, but Ryan ripped the keycard free with a sharp tug, turning around and slamming the bedroom door shut, sliding the vintage brass deadbolt into place.
From the hallway, Eleanor’s muffled scream echoed: ""Marcus! Break the door down!""
