Chapter 2 - Shadows of Hollow Crest
The deadbolt turned from the outside.
"Silas! Owen!" I threw my shoulder against the reinforced oak, but the heavy oak door didn't budge.
"Save your strength, Boss," Silas muttered, drawing his sidearm and checking the chamber. "The door is two-inch solid oak with steel backing. Marcus designed the security retrofits himself two years ago."
I rushed to Renata's side, pulling my pocket knife to slice through the heavy plastic bindings on her wrists. Lily threw her arms around her mother’s neck, weeping hysterically into Renata's torn sweater. Renata held her tight, kissing her hair over and over, her tears washing streaks through the dirt on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Renata sobbed, clutching Lily. "I tried to hide the notebook, Julian. I swear I tried."
"Shh. You're safe now," I said, crouching beside them and wiping a drop of blood from Renata's cheek. "Tell me what happened. Everything."
Renata took a shuddering breath, holding Lily close. "Three nights ago, Miss Vivian came into the kitchen. She said you wanted a bottle of the 1945 Chateau Margaux from the deep vault for a private celebration when you got back. She asked me to come down and help her locate it."
"Vivian," I growled, the name tasting like ash.
"When we got down here, Marcus was already waiting," Renata continued, her voice trembling. "They didn't want wine. Vivian opened your father's old iron wall safe—the one behind the wine rack. She had the combination, Julian. They started pulling out leather ledger books and encrypted flash drives. Vivian was talking about 'liquidating the offshore trusts' before the wedding."
The pieces began falling into place with terrifying speed. My father, Arthur Ashford, hadn't just built a real estate empire; he had maintained a shadow network of shell corporations and political slush funds. When he died, I buried those accounts, refusing to touch a single cent of stained money.
"They caught me seeing them," Renata said softly. "Marcus grabbed me. Vivian wanted to... she wanted to eliminate the problem immediately. But Marcus said it was too messy before the wedding. He said they’d lock me down here until the merger went through and your power of attorney was transferred to Vivian."
I felt an icy clarity settle over my mind. Vivian hadn't loved me. She was the weapon sent by my father's old enemies to strip Hollow Crest and Ashford Global down to the bone. And Marcus—the man I called a brother—was her co-conspirator.
"Silas," I said quietly, standing up. "Where does this tunnel lead?"
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Silas shone his light down the dark, dripping corridor stretching deeper beneath the estate. "If the old blueprints are accurate... it empties into the drainage culverts near the eastern boundary wall, half a mile away."
"Then we walk," I said. "And when we come back, we bring down the whole house."
