Chapter 9 - The House Beneath the Snow
Winter House had been empty since Adrian was fourteen.
As a child, he remembered summer parties there.
His mother laughing beside the pool.
His father smoking cigars beneath the oak trees.
Victor teaching him cards in the library.
Now the estate looked dead.
Rain hammered the roof.
Windows stared into darkness.
Adrian entered through the kitchen with Thomas and four trusted men.
No lights.
No alarms.
Thomas led them toward the basement.
Behind an old wine rack was a steel door.
Adrian stared.
“I lived here thirteen years.”
“And never knew.”
“Your father preferred it that way.”
Thomas inserted the key.
The door opened.
A narrow staircase descended underground.
At the bottom was a room filled with filing cabinets.
Old surveillance equipment.
Cash boxes.
Weapons.
And documents dating back decades.
Adrian looked around.
“This is what my father built?”
“This is what he was afraid he would need.”
Thomas crossed toward a wall safe.
It was already open.
He froze.
Adrian understood instantly.
“We’re late.”
The ledger was gone.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“Not exactly.”
Marcus Reed stepped from the darkness holding a pistol.
Victor appeared beside him.
Six armed men emerged around the room.
Adrian’s men raised their weapons.
Marcus smiled.
“Put them down.”
Nobody moved.
Victor sighed.
“Adrian.”
“You always make everything difficult.”
Adrian looked at his uncle.
“You killed Evelyn.”
Victor’s face remained calm.
“She made an unfortunate decision.”
“She protected my daughter.”
“She interfered with matters she didn’t understand.”
Adrian stepped forward.
Marcus aimed at his chest.
“Careful.”
Adrian ignored him.
“You ordered a three-day-old baby killed.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“That child changed the succession.”
“That child is your blood.”
“That child cost me everything your father promised should have been mine.”
Adrian stared at him.
“My father never promised you anything.”
Victor smiled bitterly.
“He promised me half.”
“Then he had you.”
Thomas shifted slightly.
Marcus noticed.
“Don’t.”
Thomas stopped.
Victor looked toward him.
“You were always Nicholas’s dog.”
Thomas smiled.
“And you were always jealous of your brother.”
Victor’s face darkened.
Then Marcus laughed.
“This family therapy is touching.”
“But we have business.”
He tossed a folder onto a table.
Inside were legal documents.
Adrian saw his own name.
Transfer agreements.
Voting rights.
Emergency incapacity declarations.
All forged.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You’ll sign.”
Adrian looked at him.
“No.”
Marcus smiled.
“Then Grace Miller dies.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Marcus showed him a phone.
A live video feed appeared.
Grace sat tied to a chair.
Emma was beside her.
Lily was crying in a crib.
Adrian felt every trace of warmth disappear from his body.
Marcus smiled wider.
“You really should have checked Daniel Cross more carefully.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then a figure walked into view behind Grace.
Daniel Cross.
May you like
And Adrian realized his last safe house had been betrayed too.
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