Chapter 9: The Billionaire's Counterattack
Chapter 9: The Billionaire's Counterattack
Upstairs, the heavy darkness of the second floor was suddenly punctuated by the staccato flashes of gunfire illuminating the antique wallpaper.
Ethan moved through the shadows of his own home like a ghost. He had designed the renovations of this estate himself. He knew every creaking floorboard, every structural blind spot. He found Vanessa at the end of the hallway, holding a flashlight and a military-grade two-way radio, directing the hit squad.
"They're in the east wing servant corridors. Find the woman. Burn the rest," Vanessa said into the radio, her voice devoid of any emotion.
Ethan stepped out of the shadows, the cold steel barrel of his pistol pressing hard against the base of her skull. "Who is in the east wing, Vanessa?"
She froze, the radio slipping from her fingers and clattering against the hardwood. "Ethan... I can explain. It's for the company."
"You sold me out," he snarled, disarming her with practiced efficiency and twisting her arm behind her back. "You brought heavily armed killers into my house, where my child is. Why?"
May you like
"Because your precious legacy is built on a graveyard, Ethan!" she spat, squirming in his grip. "Genesis is flawed! And that little maid of yours is holding the shovel that will bury us all!"
A gunshot rang out from the stairwell, shattering an ornate 18th-century mirror inches from Ethan’s head. Glass rained down on them. He shoved Vanessa aside, raised his weapon, and returned fire into the darkness, diving behind a solid marble pillar. The home he had built as a sanctuary had officially become a war zone.
