Chapter 14 - THE TRAITOR WITHIN|
The revelation of her father's past changed the air between them. Elena was no longer just a helpless bystander; she was linked to the very foundation of Adrien’s empire.
But safety in Adrien’s world was an illusion.
At 2:00 AM three days later, the mansion's secondary alarm sounded—not a loud siren, but a low, rhythmic red flash through the corridors.
Adrien pulled his gun from the nightstand, grabbing Elena by the wrist.
"Marcus," Adrien spoke into his comms unit. "Report."
Static hissed over the speaker. Then a cold, unfamiliar voice answered:
"Marcus is dead, Russo. And so is your perimeter team."
Elena gasped, pressing her hand against her mouth.
"Dominic Vance," Adrien growled, his jaw clenching. Vance was his chief security director—the man who held the master codes to the estate. "You sold out."
"The syndicate pays better, Adrien," Vance's voice sneered through the radio. "We have twenty men inside the glass atrium. There is nowhere to run."
Adrien shoved Elena behind him, moving toward his private study's secret exit.
"They cut the primary power," Adrien whispered to her in the dark. "The panic room in the basement is compromised if Vance has the codes. We need to reach the underground garage."
"The garage is blocked!" Elena whispered desperately, remembering the layout. "If they came through the atrium, they control the central stairwell!"
Adrien looked at her in the dim red emergency light. "Do you know another way?"
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Elena’s eyes lit up with sudden recollection. "The old wine cellar under the kitchen! The service blueprint showed an old coal chute that exits near the lower gardens!"
Adrien smiled darkly in the dark. "Lead the way, my small strategist."
