Chapter 7 - The Inner CircleJulian moved through the corridors of his mansion like an apex predator.
Every shadow was an ally; every corner was a kill zone. He had spent a decade turning his home into an impenetrable bunker, and now, that architecture was saving his life.
Three rival mercenaries crept down the hallway toward the master staircase, their rifles raised, scanning the shadows.
Julian didn't wait for them to spot him.
He dropped from the overhead wooden beam, landing squarely on the shoulders of the second man. With a sickening crunch, Julian twisted the mercenary's neck, using the falling body as a human shield against the gunfire of the other two.
Bullets chewed into his dead comrade’s chest. Julian fired twice from beneath the falling body, putting two clean rounds through the visors of the remaining attackers.
They hit the floor without a sound.
Julian rose, wiping a splatter of warm blood from his cheek. He keyed his comm-link.
"Miller, report."
Static hissed through the earpiece, followed by heavy, ragged breathing. "Boss... we held the foyer... but... but the security hub in the basement has been compromised. Someone bypassed the lockdown protocols from the inside!"
Julian’s blood ran cold. The basement.
That was where the core servers were housed. That was where the master backup of the ledger—and every piece of blackmail data Julian possessed on the city’s politicians, judges, and cops—was stored.
If the rivals got the physical hard drives from the basement vault, Julian’s empire wouldn't just fall—it would be publicly executed.
And more importantly, the private elevator shaft leading directly from the basement to the upper residential wing bypassed every security door in the house.
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Eva and Marcus were exposed.
Julian sprinted down the corridor toward the private stairwell, his boots pounding against the hardwood floor.
