Beneath HIS EMPIRE

Chapter 4

Darkness filled the mansion fast. One second, red lights were on in the hall. The next, all dark. Then a gunshot upstairs. Glass broke down the hall. A woman screamed.

Men yelled. Feet ran hard on the floor. The house was loud and wild. Lucien grabbed my arm fast. “Behind me.” His voice was sharp. I should have listened. But I pulled away and stood by the wall. “I know that voice.”

No one spoke. I heard Lucien load his gun. Then the backup lights came on. Red lights made the hall look like blood. One guard lay by the stairs. His neck was cut. Blood pooled under him. Another guard sat by the body. He checked for a pulse. There was none.

Dead. Lucien kept walking. That terrified me more than the body. The woman from downstairs came out of a room. She held her side. Blood soaked her white dress. “He took him,” she said. Lucien stopped. “Who?” “He knew the ways in.” She couldn’t breathe well. “Someone let them in.”

It got quiet. Not lost. He knew. Lucien turned slow to one of his guards by the stairs. The guard went stiff. “You shut off the east cameras ten minutes ago,” Lucien said. The man froze. All the other guards lifted their guns at once. My stomach dropped. The bad guard went for his gun. Lucien shot first. One shot. The man fell hard.

No one moved after that. The air smelled of gun smoke. “You just—” “He sold us out.” “You didn’t ask him.” Lucien looked at me. “He told me.” Cold. Hard. Sure. The woman held Lucien’s arm. “They know about the downstairs room.” That was bad. Small thing. Big trouble.

Lucien’s jaw got tight. “Take her to the west side,” he told a guard. “No.” The woman’s voice broke. “If they find him—” “They won’t.” “You don’t know that now.” Lucien’s eyes got dark. For one second, the hall was dead quiet. Then a loud boom shook the house. Closer this time. Dust fell from the top. All the guards looked that way.

Lucien grabbed my arm and pushed me to a door. “In.” I did not move. “Stop pushing me like I’m a thing.” “You are not trained.” “And your men are still dying.” Bad thing to say. His eyes met mine. Heat was there, then gone. “You think this is a joke?” he said low. “No. I think you hide things while people get hurt near me.”

Another boom hit the house. The lights blinked. Lucien cursed and pushed me in the room. The door shut hard. I turned to him fast. “Who do they want to take?” Lucien didn't answer. His silence told me enough. Someone important.

He went to a desk by the fire. He opened a secret drawer. A gun was inside. Papers. Passports. Money. Ready for a fight. Always ready.

“You have someone hidden here?” “He was meant to stay hid.” Each answer made more questions. I looked at him while rain hit the windows. “You told the world he died years back.” “He needed them to think that.” “Why?” Lucien’s face got hard. “Because my family trusted the wrong man.” I knew what he meant. “My dad.” “Yes.”

I looked away first. Not because I did not trust him. Because some part of me did. Lucien picked up a photo from the desk. He held it out. I took it slow. I could not breathe. The photo showed my dad with Lucien and another young man by some boats. All three were smiling. Friends. No. More than that. Lucien looked young in the photo. He did not look cold like now.

The other man smiled big at the camera. Same eyes as Lucien. Same jaw. Whoever he was, he wasn't just another employee. My chest tightened. Everything I believed about my father was beginning to crack.

Before I could talk, feet ran outside the room. The door flew open. Two guards pulled Mason in. Blood was on his shirt. I froze. “Mason.” I fell next to him fast. His face was white under the red lights. Blood was on his side. He was not breathing well. I got mad. “What happened?”

“We found him by the east gate,” a guard said. I looked at Lucien. “You said he was safe.” Lucien sat by Mason and pressed on the cut. “The bullet went through.” “You don’t know that.” “I do.” Mason made a noise and held my shirt. “Selene…” “I’m here.” His hand got tight. “They were in the flat.”

I felt cold. “What did they take?” Mason looked at Lucien, not me. He looked scared. “The box.” Lucien did not move. Like a cat before it jumps. “What box?” I said loud. Mason had to force the words out. “Dad gave it to me before he left.” The room seemed to spin. “What are you saying?” “He said not to tell you.” Mason’s face hurt. “He said you’d break it.”

I looked at him like I did not know him. “My dad is dead.” Mason’s eyes were more than scared. Lost. “No,” he said soft. “He came to see me three nights ago.” It got so quiet. Then all the screens on the wall came on. Video. Noise. Then clear. My flat was on screen. From tonight.

Two men in masks pulled a metal box across the room. Then another man walked in behind them. We all froze. A man stepped into view behind them. My breath caught. He looked exactly like my father.