Chapter 6 - The Darkened Hall
Julian moved with the practiced stealth of someone who had spent his youth slipping through the shadows of tenement alleys. He led Clara through the sub-floor maintenance crawlspace, avoiding the grand corridors where their footsteps would echo against the stone.
The power to the mansion suddenly cut out. The hum of the central heating died, plunging the vast house into a cold, cavernous silence broken only by the patter of rain against the leaded windows. Emergency battery lights bathed the hallway in a sickly amber glow.
"They've killed the main grid," Julian whispered, peering through the iron grille of a ventilation duct. "Standard protocol before an entry team clears a structure."
In the hallway below, Walter walked alongside Gregory Ross. The lawyer was nervously straightening his silk tie, his face pale under the amber emergency lights.
"Are you certain the boy has the documents on him?" Ross hissed, his voice tight. "If those manifests reach the press, the SEC will seize our personal accounts before market close."
"Master Julian is remarkably sentimental, Gregory," Walter replied, his voice chillingly smooth. "He keeps the physical drives close to his chest, just as his father kept his mistress's letters. Once the contractors neutralize him, we will stage the scene by the grand staircase. The nurse died of her fall; Julian, overcome with grief and intoxication, took his own life. An ancient tragedy for an ancient family."
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Clara, crouched beside Julian in the crawlway, felt a shudder of revulsion. These men didn't see human beings; they saw liabilities, balances, and legal risk profiles.
Julian’s hand found hers in the darkness, warm and steady. He tapped her palm twice—a silent signal. It was time to strike.
