Chapter 3 - The Lockdown of Blackridge Estate and the Traitors Within
The red emergency lights pulsed rhythmically against the mahogany-paneled walls, casting an eerie, arterial glow across the faces of everyone trapped inside the master office.
Outside the reinforced windows, the distant sound of heavy hydraulic shutters sliding down across every ground-floor portal of the mansion echoed like rolling thunder.
Dominic and Vance exchanged another look of sheer panic, realizing that Roman wasn't just executing an internal security sweep—he was sealing off the entire property from the outside world.
No police, no outside syndicates, no rescue teams, and certainly no escape for the conspirators who had spent months orchestrating the assassination from within the inner circle.
"You can't lock down the entire compound, Boss," Vance protested, his voice rising in pitch as he took a desperate step toward the reinforced oak doors.
"The outer perimeter guards report directly to the syndicate council in Geneva; if they see the estate completely sealed off, their extraction teams will breach the gates within the hour."
Roman didn't even turn around from the master console, his fingers flying across a secondary touchscreen interface to route all internal communications through an encrypted local server.
"Let them try," Roman replied smoothly, his tone laced with absolute indifference toward the terrifying syndicate council that commanded millions of operatives across the globe.
"Let them bring every mercenary, every assassin, and every corrupt bureaucrat they have on their payroll straight to the gates of Blackridge Estate."
Roman turned back to face them, his dark eyes locked onto Vance with a terrifying clarity. "I built these walls out of their blood, and I can certainly fill the courtyards with more of it."
Elena clutched Lily closer, feeling a cold shiver run down her spine as the true magnitude of Roman Hail’s power began to sink heavily into her consciousness.
For months, she had only known him as the quiet, brooding master of the estate who occasionally stopped by the library to review historical freight manifests or check on the household accounts.
She had known he was dangerous—everyone in the region whispered about the shadow empire he commanded from the waterfront—but seeing him operate in the wake of treason was entirely different.
He moved with the cold, calculated efficiency of a apex predator who had spent his entire life hunting down betrayal before it could even fully manifest into open rebellion.
"Elena," Roman spoke softly, his voice dropping below the ambient hum of the estate’s emergency generators as he stepped away from the door and approached the leather armchair.
"Take Lily through the private service corridor behind the bookshelf. Go down to the reinforced panic shelter beneath the east wing and lock the steel bulkhead from the inside."
Elena shook her head firmly, her eyes flashing with a stubborn defiance that caught Roman completely off guard, making him pause mid-step.
"I am not running and hiding while you clean out your own house, Roman," Elena stated, her voice remarkably steady despite the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
"My daughter saved your life today based on what she saw from that courtyard. That makes us part of this equation now, whether your syndicate likes it or not."
Dominic let out a harsh, bitter laugh from the corner of the room, earning himself a lethal glare from Roman that instantly wiped the smirk off his face.
"Listen to her, Boss," Dominic sneered recklessly. "The civilian wants to play mafia wife. She has no idea what kind of war she just stepped into by refusing to hide."
Before Dominic could finish his sentence, Roman crossed the room with blinding speed, his fist connecting squarely with Dominic’s jaw in a sickening crunch of bone and cartilage.
Dominic crashed hard against the mahogany bookshelf, sending a cascade of heavy leather-bound ledgers tumbling down around him before sliding unconscious onto the Persian rug.
Vance gasped, pressing his back flat against the reinforced window as blood began to pool beneath Dominic’s limp body on the floor.
Roman didn't even flinch, casually shaking out his right hand as he turned his cold, piercing gaze back toward Vance, who looked ready to pass out from sheer fright.
"Still think she's just a civilian, Vance?" Roman asked quietly, wiping a speck of Dominic’s blood from his knuckle with a pristine white pocket square.
Vance shook his head frantically, his knees finally giving out beneath him as he slumped down onto the floor beside the unconscious form of his co-conspirator.
"Good," Roman said, turning his attention back to Elena and Lily with an expression that softened into something almost gentle, contrasting sharply with the violence that had just occurred.
"You don't have to hide, Elena. But you do need to stay right here behind me while I answer the phone call that’s about to ring on my private line."
Right on cue, the secure red telephone sitting on the corner of the mahogany desk began to emit a harsh, rhythmic electronic ring that pierced the pulsing red light of the room.
Roman walked slowly toward the desk, his eyes locked on the blinking red light of the instrument that connected Blackridge Estate directly to the inner sanctum of the Geneva council.
May you like
He picked up the heavy black handset, pressed it firmly against his ear, and spoke into the silence with a voice that sounded like grinding stones.
"You're late, gentlemen. I expected your call ten minutes ago."
Related Stories
