Chapter 3: The Scream
Chapter 3: The Scream
Across the sprawling, three-hundred-acre estate, Marcus froze. The ex-military operative and current head of Vangarde security was patrolling the botanical gardens when the shrill, desperate sound of a woman's scream pierced the quiet night. He tapped his earpiece.
"Control, this is Marcus. Report on that disturbance in Sector 4. Over."
Static hissed in his ear. "Control, respond."
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Nothing. The security feed was dead. Marcus’s blood ran cold. He had worked for the Vangarde family for three years, and he had spent every one of those days silently observing the rotting, corrupt core of the family dynamic. He knew Victor was a sociopath. He knew Julian was a coward. But Elena—Elena was innocent. She had treated him with kindness, asking about his life, making him feel like a human being rather than a guard dog.
When he heard the secondary sound—the heavy, hydraulic grinding of the pool house's lockdown mechanisms engaging—his training took over. He dropped his flashlight, drew his sidearm, and began to sprint across the manicured lawns.
