Chapter 10 - The Interrogation
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The realization hit Damian like a physical blow. His own estate manager, a man who had orchestrated the daily operations of his home for five years, was a mole for the Russian syndicate.
"Gabriel, lock down the property," Damian roared, his voice vibrating with absolute, unadulterated fury. "Nobody enters or leaves. Find Victor Crane and bring him to the basement holding cells immediately."
The mansion erupted into chaos. Heavily armed guards sprinted down the corridors, effectively sealing the estate in a matter of minutes.
Damian didn't leave my side. He placed a heavy, protective hand on the small of my back, guiding me rapidly toward the hidden elevator that descended into the subterranean levels of the mansion.
"You don't have to witness this, Harper," Damian warned softly as the elevator doors closed, insulating us in a quiet steel box. "What happens in that room will not be civilized."
"He sold my life to an assassin because he thought I was beneath him," I replied, my voice remarkably steady, staring at my reflection in the polished metal doors. "I am not hiding upstairs while you handle my monsters, Damian."
Damian looked at me, a dark, profound respect shining in his eyes. He didn't argue.
When the doors opened, we stepped into a damp, concrete bunker that smelled of rust and cold iron. In the center of the room, strapped tightly to a heavy steel chair, sat Victor Crane. His immaculate tuxedo was ruined, his face pale and sweating profusely under the harsh glare of a single, swinging overhead bulb.
Gabriel stood in the shadows, holding a pair of heavy tactical gloves.
Victor looked up as we entered. When he saw me standing beside Damian, dressed in emerald silk and dripping in diamonds, his lip curled in an instinctive, arrogant sneer, completely unable to hide his disgust even while facing death.
"You are a fool, Mr. Romano," Victor spat, blood leaking from a fresh cut on his lip where Gabriel had clearly offered a preliminary greeting. "You are risking a war with the Volkovs over a common maid. She is a parasite. She is using you."
Damian didn't yell. He didn't draw a weapon. He walked slowly, methodically across the concrete floor until he was standing directly in front of the bound estate manager.
"You let an assassin into my home," Damian whispered, his voice so dangerously quiet it sent a chill down my spine. "You deactivated the perimeter lasers on the north lawn. You guided the shooter’s laser sight from the ventilation shaft."
"I was protecting this syndicate!" Victor shouted, desperate and unhinged. "The Volkovs offered us a peace treaty! They offered us absolute control of the shipping ports! All we had to do was hand over the girl and her father's ledger!"
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"And who brokered this brilliant peace treaty for you, Victor?" Damian asked softly, leaning down so his face was inches from the traitor. "Who paid you to plant that laser?"
Victor swallowed hard, his eyes darting frantically. "It was an outside contractor. A man named Tyler Bennett. He said the girl belonged to him."
