Chapter 17 - The Chapel Hill Estate
Midnight settled heavily over the sprawling Calloway estate in Chapel Hill. Towering ancient oak trees cast long, skeletal shadows across the sprawling brick manor, wrapped in an eerie, profound silence.
A sleek black sedan crept down the private gravel driveway without its headlights on, coming to a smooth stop near the rear service entrance. Julian Vance slipped out of the vehicle like a ghost, clad in dark tactical gear and carrying a heavy professional lock-picking kit in his leather satchel.
He moved with practiced stealth, bypassing the inactive security sensors—which had already been disabled by a corrupt insider code Ethan had given him months prior in exchange for a promised offshore bailout.
The heavy oak back door clicked open with a soft, metallic whisper. Julian stepped inside, sweeping a high-powered flashlight across the dimly lit study. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a massive mahogany desk sat at the center of the room.
"Bingo," Julian whispered, approaching a concealed wall safe hidden behind an ornate oil painting of Ethan’s grandfather.
Working swiftly, Julian attached a digital bypass decoder to the keypad. The tiny LED screen flickered through a sequence of numbers, whirring softly in the dead silence of the manor. Within three minutes, the heavy steel door of the safe swung open with a pneumatic hiss.
Inside sat stacks of bearer bonds, several diamond-encrusted watches, and a small, matte-black encrypted hard drive labeled Project Janus.
Julian reached out his gloved hand, grabbing the hard drive just as a sharp click echoed from the doorway behind him.
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"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," a deep, chillingly calm voice resonated through the darkened study.
Julian spun around, dropping into a defensive crouch, sweeping his flashlight beam toward the entrance. Standing in the doorway, blocking his only exit, was Declan Pierce. His hands were tucked casually into his trouser pockets, his expression carved from absolute ice.
