Chapter 5 - IN THE VIPER'S NEST
At 2:00 AM, the Ashford estate was plunged into heavy silence.
Eleanor bypassed the security cameras on the third floor with practiced ease. She had mapped the blind spots years ago. She slipped into Sabrina’s private suite while the woman slept down the hall in the master wing.
Moving like a shadow, Eleanor approached Sabrina’s antique writing desk. She knew Sabrina was arrogant, but she was also careful. However, Eleanor possessed a secret weapon: a photographic memory. She remembered the sequence of numbers Sabrina had absentmindedly tapped into her phone two days prior.
Eleanor slid her fingers beneath the false bottom of the desk drawer, finding the hidden digital keypad. She punched in the code. A soft click rewarded her.
Inside lay a black leather bound ledger and a small, velvet pouch.
Eleanor opened the ledger, scanning the pages with a penlight. There it was. Offshore bank transfers, encrypted communications, and detailed schematics of the Ashford estate’s security rotations. Sabrina wasn't just an informant; she was orchestrating the impending Moretti invasion.
Then, Eleanor opened the velvet pouch. Her blood ran cold. Inside were three small vials of a clear, odorless liquid. It was a synthesized neurotoxin. The same poison that had been slowly deteriorating Julian’s lungs. Sabrina hadn't just been poisoning Julian; the newest entries in the ledger indicated she was planning to start dosing Vincent’s whiskey.
"Looking for something, maid?"
Eleanor froze. The lights in the suite snapped on.
Sabrina stood in the doorway, a silenced pistol gripped firmly in her hand. Behind her stood two of her personal bodyguards, men who were loyal to the Whitmore-Moretti alliance, not the Ashfords.
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"I knew you were a sneaking rat," Sabrina smiled, her eyes cold and triumphant. "Cutting your hair was just to see if you'd break. But you're tougher than you look. Too bad you're not bulletproof."
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