Chương 6 - the traitor in the study
By 5:00 AM, the storm had passed, leaving a pale, misty dawn breaking over the wet estate grounds.
Inside Ryan's private study, the fireplace crackled warmly. Bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room was the surviving mercenary from the north garden attack. His tactical jacket was stripped, his face bruised, his hands tied behind his back with heavy zip-ties.
Standing across the desk was Ryan, his black suit coat removed, his white dress shirt sleeves rolled up over his muscular, tattooed forearms. Beside him stood Marcus, holding an encrypted laptop.
"I checked the internal server logs from midnight, boss," Marcus reported, his voice tight with anger. "The perimeter thermal sensor wasn't cut from the outside. Someone used an administrative override code from inside this house to disable sector four."
Ryan’s dark eyes narrowed into twin points of icy focus. "Who held administrative clearance for sector four, Marcus?"
Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second, his posture stiffening. "Only three people, boss. You, myself... and Thomas, the estate groundskeeper."
Ryan walked slowly around his desk, stopping two feet from his groundskeeper, who was standing quietly near the door frame. Thomas was a fifty-year-old man who had maintained the estate's gardens for eight years.
"Thomas," Ryan said softly, his gravelly voice carrying a lethal weight. "How much did Valenti pay you?"
Thomas’s pale face flushed red with instant panic. He backed against the door frame, his hands shaking violently. "Mr. Vane... please! They have my daughter in Chicago! Valenti told me if I didn't open sector four tonight, his men would execute her!"
Ryan stared at the groundskeeper for a long moment. He didn't raise his voice; he didn't strike the man. He simply stepped forward, grabbed Thomas by his collar, and pushed him gently toward Marcus.
"Call the federal task force, Marcus," Ryan ordered coldly. "Tell them we have the location where Valenti is holding Thomas's daughter in Chicago. Have our local crew breach that house immediately and secure the girl."
Marcus nodded, pulling out his secure satellite phone. "Consider it done, boss."
Thomas fell to his knees on the carpet, weeping tears of gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Vane... oh God, thank you..."
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Ryan looked down at him with dark, unshakeable authority. "You compromised my family's home, Thomas. You will spend the rest of your life in a federal cell. But your daughter will live."
Ryan turned toward the window, looking out at the sun breaking through the clouds over the lake as a grand, final plan began to form in his mind.
