Chapter 7 - The Basement Vault
The basement of the Vantage estate was a sprawling labyrinth of wine cellars, climate-controlled storage vaults, and high-tech server rooms. Built into the bedrock of the hill, its walls were reinforced concrete, illuminated by dim, recessed LED strip lights that cast long shadows across the polished concrete floor.
Julian burst through the heavy steel door at the top of the stairs, slamming it shut behind him and throwing the deadbolt into place.
His heart slammed against his ribs like a trapped beast. Sweat soaked his white dress shirt, turning the fabric translucent against his skin. His jaw throbbed with a dull, sickening ache where Marcus had hit him.
"Crazy old bastard..." Julian panted, staggering down the hallway toward the digital server room at the end of the corridor. "You think you can come into my house... lock down my estate..."
He reached the digital keypad outside the server room door, his bloody fingers frantically tapping in his eight-digit access code.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. GREEN LIGHT.
The heavy reinforced door unlatched with a loud pneumatic hiss. Julian shoved his way inside, lunging for the main console tower that housed the estate’s local storage drives. He needed to pull the hard drives, smash them to pieces, and burn any evidence that could be used against him in court.
He grabbed a heavy steel screwdriver from the rack on the wall, jamming it into the metal casing of the primary rack drive.
"Looking for these?" a dark, steady voice spoke from the corner of the room.
Julian froze, the screwdriver slipping from his fingers and clattering onto the raised floor tiles.
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Sitting in the ergonomic leather chair behind the main console desk was Vance's chief security operative—a former Special Forces operator named Briggs. In his lap rested four solid-state hard drives, already neatly removed from the server rack, their data ports disconnected.
Briggs leaned forward, his cold eyes fixing on Julian. "The Commander thought you might come down here. He asked me to keep these safe for the prosecutors."
