CHAPTER 7 — THE SIEGE OF THE GLASS MANSION
CHAPTER 7 — THE SIEGE OF THE GLASS MANSION
The first masked gunman stepped through the shattered entrance.
He never made it another three feet.
Liam's security chief struck him with a non-lethal shock baton, sending him crashing across the marble floor before two guards restrained him.
Outside, more armed men spread across the estate.
Spotlights from the armored Maybachs lit up the grounds.
The attackers had expected frightened billionaires.
Instead, they had walked into a fortress.
"Protect the guests!" Liam ordered.
The tactical team moved with flawless precision, escorting investors into the reinforced wine cellar beneath the mansion.
I stayed where I was.
Liam looked at me.
"You should go with them."
I shook my head.
"They didn't come for the guests."
"They came for me."
Another explosion rocked the driveway.
Smoke poured through the broken entrance.
A tall man in a black tactical coat emerged from the haze, removing his earpiece with calm confidence.
His silver hair was perfectly combed.
His tailored suit looked untouched by the chaos surrounding him.
Victor Langford.
The billionaire behind Helix Dynamics.
The man whose voice I had heard only minutes earlier.
He surveyed the room as though attending a board meeting rather than leading an armed assault.
"So..."
He smiled politely.
"Dr. Audrey Hayes."
"We finally meet."
I stepped forward.
"You paid to destroy a thirteen-year-old girl's life."
Victor sighed.
"I paid to protect an industry."
"You happened to stand in its way."
The room fell silent.
Even Natalie stared at him in horror.
Victor continued without remorse.
"You were a child with impossible ideas."
"If Project Phoenix had succeeded twenty years ago, my company would have lost everything."
"So yes..."
"I made a business decision."
Richard lunged toward him in fury.
"You monster!"
Victor's guards restrained him effortlessly.
Victor barely glanced at Richard.
"You sold your stepdaughter's confidence for free."
"I merely purchased the opportunity."
Richard collapsed, devastated by the truth.
Liam took one step closer.
"You confessed."
Victor smiled.
"Did I?"
"No jury will ever hear it."
He pulled a small remote from his pocket.
"I have one final insurance policy."
Every phone in the mansion suddenly buzzed.
The screens displayed the same horrifying message.
PHOENIX CORE MELTDOWN INITIATED
The emergency servers I had protected earlier were now counting down.
05:00
"If I cannot own your technology," Victor said calmly, "no one will."
He pressed the button.
The countdown continued.
Then he turned to leave.
Liam moved.
May you like
So did Victor's guards.
The ballroom erupted into chaos.
