“Julian,” Adrian said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. “I expected better execution from you.”

Julian let out a dry, nervous laugh, though he kept his flashlight aimed steady. “You always thought you were three steps ahead, Adrian. But you got careless.”

“Careless?” Adrian asked.

He slowly lowered his weapon just an inch, though his body remained tense, ready to spring.

“You brought a secretary into your inner circle,” Marcus said, gesturing toward me with a gloved hand. “A broken girl who couldn’t even keep her own life together.”

“She is worth ten of you, Marcus,” Adrian said calmly.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Marcus snapped, stepping closer. “The lock is sealed. My people control the security feed. You’re trapped down here.”

Adrian actually smiled, a small, cold twitch of his lips.

“Do you really think I didn’t know about the server breach last Tuesday?” Adrian asked.

The cellar grew even quieter, the hum of the cooling system suddenly sounding very loud.

Julian shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “What are you talking about?”