Chapter 3 - THE SERPENT IN THE MANOR
The underground maintenance tunnel was dark, damp, and smelled of earth, but to Adrian, who had designed the estate's security blueprints fifteen years ago, it was a familiar sanctuary.
He navigated the brick passageway until he reached a concealed brass ladder that led directly into the hollow wall space behind the grand library.
Climbing quietly, Adrian positioned himself behind the carved oak air vent that overlooked the library desk.
Through the wooden slats, he saw his cousin, Julian Sterling, sitting in Adrian’s leather executive chair. Julian was dressed in a bespoke Italian suit, sipping expensive scotch at ten o'clock in the morning. Standing across from him was Richard Vance, a predatory corporate raider whom Adrian had personally blacklisted from Wall Street three years ago.
"Is the transfer ready?" Julian asked, swirling the amber liquid in his glass.
"Everything is set for Friday," Vance replied, laying a thick black folder on the mahogany desk. "Once your lawyers file the declaration of Adrian’s legal incapacitation due to his 'unexplained disappearance,' you assume temporary power of attorney over Whitmore Global. We liquidate the offshore holding reserves, sell the real estate portfolio to my shell company for pennies on the dollar, and split the three hundred million."
Julian smirked, leaning back in Adrian’s chair and resting his polished shoes on the desk. "And the domestic staff? They're starting to ask questions about why Adrian left without his personal security detail."
"Fire anyone who looks too closely," Vance sneered. "Starting with that old butler, Thomas, and the head housekeeper. Replace them with people who know how to keep their mouths shut—like your gate guard, Victor."
Behind the vent, Adrian’s blood ran cold.
It was not just corporate greed; it was a total, hostile betrayal from his own bloodline. Julian was preparing to dismantle fifteen years of Adrian’s life work and ruin dozens of loyal employees who had served the estate for decades.
"What about the girl?" Vance added, flipping through a personnel file. "The one who works in the west wing... Grace Miller?"
Julian waved his hand dismissively. "Her brother has terminal kidney disease. She’s desperate for money. I offered her a 'bonus' last week if she signed a statement claiming she saw Adrian acting erratically and mentally unstable before he vanished. She refused."
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"Then terminate her today," Vance said coldly. "We can't have principled people walking around this house."
Adrian felt a surge of quiet, thunderous rage. The girl who had risked her job to hand a starving man an apple was currently being targeted by the snakes occupying his home.
