The corridor outside the vault smelled of smoke and gunpowder.
Emergency lights flickered across the marble walls, bathing the hallway in pulses of red. Somewhere deeper inside the estate, automatic gunfire echoed like thunder trapped inside a cage.
Adrian stepped forward first.
Calm.
Focused.
Every movement controlled.
Behind him, Elara followed with the pistol he had given her, her heartbeat steady despite the chaos erupting around them.
Luca moved to Adrian's other side, rifle raised.
"They're pushing through the west hall," Luca said quietly, listening to the radio chatter in his earpiece.
Adrian nodded once.
"Numbers?"
"Twenty… maybe twenty-five left."
Elara frowned.
"You said thirty earlier."
Luca's lips curved slightly.
"Your security team is very motivated."
Another burst of gunfire echoed upstairs.
Someone screamed.
Then silence.
Adrian reached the end of the corridor and stopped.
His eyes scanned the intersection ahead.
Two hallways.
One leading deeper into the estate.
The other toward the central staircase.
"They'll try to control the stairs," Adrian said.
"Why?" Elara asked.
"Because whoever controls the stairs controls the mansion."
Luca smirked.
"Good thing we designed this place."
Adrian didn't smile.
He simply stepped forward.
And then—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Three armed men appeared from the left corridor.
They barely had time to react.
Adrian fired first.
Two precise shots.
Two attackers dropped instantly.
The third raised his rifle.
Elara fired.
The bullet struck the man's shoulder, throwing off his aim.
Luca finished him with a clean headshot.
Silence returned to the hallway.
Elara's breathing quickened.
"That was my first time shooting someone."
Adrian glanced at her.
"Regret it?"
She looked at the fallen attacker.
Then back at him.
"No."
He nodded once.
"Good."
Luca checked the bodies quickly.
"These guys aren't amateurs."
"How can you tell?" Elara asked.
"Military boots. Tactical breathing masks. Custom rifles."
Adrian crouched beside one