Chapter 9: Beneath the Alcazar
Chapter 9: Beneath the Alcazar
The entrance beneath the loading dock appeared to be an ordinary electrical cabinet.
Camila pressed her thumb against a hidden sensor. A steel panel slid open, revealing a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
Julian, Marcus, Camila, and two security officers entered.
The tunnels smelled of rust and damp stone.
Above them, preparations for the merger continued. Waiters arranged champagne. Reporters gathered outside. Board members reviewed documents that could place Adrian in control of the Rossi empire.
Below, Julian moved through the shadows with Elena’s ring clenched in his fist.
They reached a junction.
Camila pointed left.
“Adrian’s private room is beyond the boiler chamber.”
A gunshot cracked through the tunnel.
One security officer fell.
Marcus dragged Julian behind a concrete pillar as another shot struck the wall.
Camila screamed and dropped to the floor.
Two armed men appeared at the far end of the passage.
Marcus returned fire.
The confined tunnel exploded with noise.
Julian spotted a maintenance pipe running along the ceiling. He seized a metal wrench from the floor and struck the pressure valve.
Steam burst across the corridor.
The gunmen stumbled backward, blinded.
Marcus advanced through the vapor and disarmed the first man. Julian tackled the second, driving him against the wall.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Julian struck the man once, twice, then stopped only when Marcus grabbed his shoulder.
“We need him alive.”
Julian released him.
“Where is my wife?”
The gunman laughed through bloodied teeth.
“You’re too late.”
Julian pressed him against the wall.
“Where?”
“Boiler room three.”
They ran.
Inside boiler room three, they found a chair, restraints, and Elena’s torn hospital bracelet.
But Elena was gone.
A speaker mounted near the ceiling crackled.
Adrian’s voice filled the room.
“You were always predictable, Julian.”
Julian looked up.
A camera watched them from the corner.
Adrian continued.
“You believed loyalty was permanent because you never had to earn it. Your father made the same mistake.”
“Where is Elena?”
“Safe, for the moment.”
“If you hurt her—”
“You’ll do what? Destroy your own company? Expose documents that will send half your board to prison?”
Julian stared into the camera.
“I’ll destroy everything before I let you keep it.”
Adrian laughed.
“That is why you were never qualified to lead.”
A screen lit up behind them.
Elena appeared, tied to a chair inside a luxurious office.
A man stood behind her with a gun.
Adrian entered the frame.
“Come upstairs,” he said. “Sign the merger documents, give me Samuel Ward, and persuade your wife to unlock the drive.”
Elena raised her head.
“Don’t do it.”
Adrian struck her across the face.
Julian surged toward the screen.
May you like
Adrian smiled.
“The ballroom is waiting.”
