Chapter 4 - The Vanishing Evidence
By dawn, the game had changed from a silent extraction to open warfare.
Silas returned from a reconnaissance sweep around the main manor with grim news. "Marcus has declared a lockdown. He’s told the staff that you vanished after a mental breakdown and that Renata stole two million dollars in art pieces before fleeing with her child. Local police cruisers are already sitting at the main gates."
"He’s controlling the narrative," I muttered, pacing the wooden floorboards of the carriage house. "If I step foot near a police station, Marcus's bought-and-paid-for precinct commanders will have me processed and sedated before my lawyer even knows I'm in custody."
"Then we strike first," Renata said, standing up from the workbench. "The main server for the estate's security and financial records isn't in the house. It's in the basement vault of the Ashford Tower downtown."
"Marcus will have that building crawling with his private security team," Silas warned.
"He will," I said, a dark smile touching my lips. "Which means he won't be looking at Hollow Crest."
I turned to Renata. "Can you access the digital overrides if I get you to a hardline terminal?"
"I was your chief administrative officer for three years, Julian," Renata said with a firm, unyielding calm. "I know your system backdoors better than the engineers who built them."
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"Good," I said. "Silas, ready the vintage Aston Martin in the lower garage. It’s non-digital, untraceable, and fast. Tonight, we take back what's ours."
Suddenly, the carriage house windows shattered in a hail of glass.
