CHAPTER 5 — THE AUCTION OF A CHILD
The underground tunnel beneath the Mercer Estate was never meant to be a prison.
Marcus had built it years earlier as an emergency escape route.
But Adrian Black had transformed it into something far darker.
Steel doors.
Security cameras.
Bulletproof glass.
Hidden elevators.
And at the center...
A room that looked like a luxury conference hall.
Except every chair faced a giant digital screen.
As Samuel and Lily were dragged inside, more faces appeared.
Some joined by encrypted video.
Others arrived in person.
Businessmen.
Politicians.
Arms dealers.
Human traffickers.
Billionaires whose names regularly appeared on magazine covers.
No one used real names.
Only numbers.
One voice echoed through the speakers.
"Item Number One."
"Lily."
The little girl looked around in confusion.
Samuel covered her eyes.
"Don't look."
But she already had.
Adrian stepped onto the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
"You are not buying a child."
"You are buying leverage."
He pointed toward Lily.
"The man who calls himself Marcus Mercer burned half the criminal underworld to build his empire."
"He destroyed governments."
"He buried enemies."
"But this child..."
"...makes him weak."
The screen lit up with numbers.
Opening bid: 50 million dollars.
A voice responded immediately.
"Sixty."
Another.
"Seventy-five."
"Ninety."
"One hundred million."
Samuel's entire body trembled.
These monsters weren't buying Lily.
They were buying control over Marcus.
Adrian smiled.
"See?"
"Everyone fears him."
"So tonight..."
"They're purchasing insurance."
Above ground...
Viktor's men discovered the hidden elevator.
Explosives were planted.
Three.
Two.
One.
BOOM!
Concrete cracked.
Steel bent.
Dust filled the tunnels.
But the elevator still refused to open.
Adrian laughed through the speakers.
"You taught me well, Marcus."
"I built this place using your own blueprints."
Inside the aircraft...
Marcus received a satellite image of the estate.
Then another.
Then one final message.
Estimated arrival: 47 minutes.
Too long.
He walked into the cockpit.
"Land closer."
The pilot looked horrified.
"There's nowhere."
May you like
Marcus opened a military map.
"There is now."
