Chapter 8 - The Wrath of the Blackwood
Victor did not hesitate or offer warnings. The moment he stepped through the ruined nursery door, his Heckler & Koch submachine gun barked twice.
The two tactical mercenaries didn't even have time to raise their rifles before heavy rounds dropped them instantly to the carpeted floor. Silence slammed back into the room, broken only by the hiss of the lingering smoke and the distant wail of the security alarms.
Victor stepped over the bodies, his eyes dark and scanning every corner of the room until they locked onto the heavy steel door of the panic room.
"Lily," Victor called out, his voice shockingly calm given the carnage surrounding him. "It’s Victor. Open the door."
Inside the safe room, Lily let out a long, shuddering breath of relief. She reached out and pressed the master release switch on the control panel.
The heavy magnetic lock disengaged with a soft click, and the steel door swung open.
Victor stood in the threshold, his dark overcoat spattered with fresh rain and soot. His eyes softened the moment he saw Lily standing safely in the corner, gently rocking a now-calm Ethan in her arms.
"Are you alright?" Victor asked, stepping inside and gently placing a gloved hand on her shoulder, checking her over for any new injuries.
"We’re fine," Lily whispered, looking up at him with tear-bright eyes. "They... they were looking for something. Ledger drives. Serena hid them in the nursery."
Victor’s jaw tightened into a rigid line. "Harrison Vance. He thought he could slip a clean-up crew into my home while I was at the docks." Victor turned his head sharply toward Marcus, who was standing guard in the hallway. "Marcus, sweep the perimeter. Make sure Harrison hasn't escaped through the service stairwell."
"Already on it, boss," Marcus replied, sprinting down the corridor.
Victor turned back to Lily, his expression softening as he looked down at his son. He gently brushed a stray curl of hair from Lily’s forehead, his thumb lingering for a second against her warm skin. "You protected him again," he murmured, his voice dropping to a low, intimate register. "You risked your life against armed mercenaries to keep my son safe."
"Anyone would have done the same," Lily said softly, her cheeks warming under his intense gaze.
"No," Victor corrected quietly. "Most people would have run. Most people would have saved themselves. But you... you stayed."
Before Lily could find the words to reply, a heavy metallic clatter echoed from the baseboard behind the dismantled crib. Victor’s sharp eyes snapped toward the sound. He walked over, knelt down, and pulled away a loose panel of wainscoting.
Tucked neatly inside the wall cavity was a sleek, military-grade black Pelican case bearing the corporate crest of the Montigue shipping empire.
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Victor popped the latches. Inside sat three encrypted master ledger drives—the very evidence that would completely dismantle Harrison Vance’s criminal empire once and for all.
"Checkmate," Victor whispered darkly.
