Chapter 3 - Shadows Over the Sterling EstateThe hallway descended into chaos. William stared back and forth between his son and the woman carrying his wife's face. "Isabella... what are you talking about?"
"She isn't Isabella, Mr. Sterling!" Emma yelled, pulling Ethan behind William. "She's her sister, Victoria. Look at her left hand!"
William froze. His real wife, Isabella, had a distinct crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist from a childhood accident. The woman standing before him with the detonator had flawless, unblemished skin.
Realizing her cover was completely blown, Victoria didn't panic. Instead, a sinister smile spread across her face. "Smart girl, Emma. But you're a bit too late." She pressed a button on the device.
A deafening alarm blasted through the entire estate. Red emergency lights began flashing, and heavy iron shutters slammed down over every window and exit in the manor, locking the ballroom guests inside and sealing the mansion off from the outside world.
"What did you do?!" William demanded, reaching for his phone, only to find the signal completely dead.
"I’ve initiated a security protocol," Victoria said coolly. "This house is now on total lockdown. The private security force outside doesn't answer to you, William. They answer to my employers. And they are under orders to clear the premises—permanently."
Through the glass paneling of the hallway doors, Emma saw tactical guards dressed in dark uniforms advancing through the estate grounds. They weren't police; they were mercenaries.
William grabbed Ethan in his arms and looked at Emma. "The service tunnels under the kitchen. It’s the only way out that isn't connected to the main security network."
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"You won't make it past the courtyard," Victoria taunted, retreating into the shadows of the hidden passage as heavy footsteps echoed from the main foyer.
Emma, William, and Ethan sprinted through the labyrinthine service corridors of the mansion, dodging armed guards while the sound of panicking guests echoed from the locked ballroom above.
