CHAPTER 308: CHAPTER 308 BREAKING IN II

Liam stopped typing, leaned back in the chair, and stared at Vanessa with a faint look of confusion. His voice was raspy, tired, but still steady enough. "Hold on. What exactly are we looking for?"

Vanessa replied calmly, "If Arthur purchased the serum, then it has to be in this house. If he didn’t, then we just go through his logs and find anything suspicious."

Liam looked back at the screen in front of him and scoffed. "Everything here looks suspicious. I mean, look at this—this guy receives crypto transfers daily, and these aren’t small numbers."

Vanessa walked over, standing behind him as she glanced at the numbers. Her eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. "Five figures. Every single day?"

Liam nodded, his index finger dragging along a few highlighted transactions. "Different crypto wallets, different timestamps. All anonymous, all without real IDs. The amounts range from ten grand to twenty. Sometimes even thirty."

Dickson’s voice came over the comms, barely audible under the sound of him munching something. "The restaurants and laundries are all bullshit. Just a front. The family wealth? Same story. He’s moving real money through here."

Vanessa plugged in her flash drive and began copying every piece of financial record she could scrape from the system. "No one gets this kind of money and stays clean. He’s more than just connected to Crimson Hand. He’s deep in it."

She double-checked the progress bar before letting the file copy continue in the background. "I’ve got everything—wallet IDs, transaction records, even login activity. This stuff should help us track back some of the other players too."

Liam, still rubbing the back of his neck as his muscles screamed in protest, spoke again. "Let’s say he did buy the serum for a million bucks... that’s not something you just toss under your bed. It’s gotta be secured somewhere important."

He looked toward the large staircase in the hallway, tilting his head. "Even a sleaze like him wouldn’t keep something like that lying around."

Dickson chuckled. "Yeah. If I dropped a mil on anything that isn’t a car or a mansion, I’d guard it with my life."

Vanessa crossed her arms. "Where would you hide something like that? If you were him?"

Dickson answered without missing a beat. "His bedroom. Come on. Guys like him always keep the good stuff close. Ego thing."

Vanessa touched her elbow and hesitated for a second. "It’s a decent guess. Rich creeps are predictable."

But Liam shook his head slowly, firm in his disagreement. "No. Not this guy. He’s the type who can’t even protect himself. If it’s that valuable, it won’t be anywhere near him. He’ll hide it somewhere far from reach. Somewhere more secure than a bedroom drawer."

There was a pause. Vanessa stood between both arguments now—Dickson’s simplicity and Liam’s strategic logic. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the copying files.

Liam spoke again, folding his arms. "If I had something worth a million dollars and no skills to fight, I’d stash it somewhere even I couldn’t access easily without help. Somewhere behind security layers. He probably doesn’t even know how to open the safe it’s in."

Vanessa didn’t answer right away. Her eyes moved across the room, weighing the choices. Then she gave a soft sigh and finally said, "We’ll go with the bedroom first. Something about it feels right to me."

Over the comms, Dickson burst out laughing. "Yes! Liam, you just lost. Chalk it up, man. I’m up by one."

Liam groaned and stood up, staggering a bit from the pain flaring in his chest.

They started moving through the hallway, careful with every step. The alarm system was already disabled, but that didn’t mean they were safe. A backup system or hidden motion sensors could still be active. Liam led quietly, taking corners first while Vanessa trailed just behind, tucking the flash drive away.

Dickson’s voice came again, a bit more serious now. "Listen, if you find the serum, don’t touch it directly. You don’t know what Boss put in that shit."

Vanessa whispered back, "Got it."

They reached the top of the stairs, quiet and methodical. The hallway was clean, spotless. Two doors lined the left side and one was at the far right end. Vanessa turned and looked at Liam for direction.

He pointed firmly at the door at the end. "That one."

Vanessa moved toward it, pulling out her lock pick. Liam stood to the side, his eyes scanning for movement. He hated how cold his body had gotten. His bones ached like hell. Even his breathing was starting to break rhythm.

The lock clicked open.

She pushed the door forward. The room was massive, maybe too massive.

Polished wooden floors stretched from one side to the other. The walls were lined with bookshelves. A chandelier made of blackened glass hung from the ceiling. The king-sized bed was decorated in red and black silk, and the headboard was engraved with gold initials.

Liam’s eyes didn’t linger long. His gaze locked on a painting above the fireplace with a small digital keypad installed right beside it.

He tilted his head. "Now that looks promising."

Vanessa stepped in beside him. "It has to be somewhere here."

Liam walked forward toward the painting above the fireplace. A small keypad was embedded into the wall beside it. He stared at it and shook his head, frustrated.

"Who the hell leaves something like this out in the open if it’s supposed to be valuable?" he whispered.

He tapped the keypad once, half-tempted to punch a code. But if the serum were hidden behind the painting, this was the kind of obvious spot a careless rich guy might use. Still, it felt too exposed.

He raised his eyes and then called Vanessa over softly, motioning with his head. She slipped beside him and glanced at the keypad.

"I didn’t bring anything to open it," she murmured under her breath. Her voice was low, her eyes scanning for hidden wires or sensors.

Liam looked at the panel and then at Vanessa. "Unless we smash it open," he said quietly.

Vanessa frowned. "Smash it? That would trigger alarms. Arthur would know someone was inside."

Liam shook his head. That option was impossible. "Without wanting to give away our presence, we can’t risk that."

So they both turned away from the keypad and began searching the bedroom again, meticulously. Liam’s movements were slow and calculated—opening drawers, checking under cushions, scanning behind books on the shelves, examining under the bed. Vanessa followed their earlier path, tracing the walls, tapping on surfaces for hollow spaces. Nothing.

After fifteen minutes of searching, they found no serum. Nothing that looked suspicious or valuable. The wardrobe had some silk suits, an iron board, a safe deposit box inside the chest. Still nothing.

Liam sagged and collapsed weakly onto the bed. The illness was gripping tight now. His muscles shook. His jawched and he exhaled hard.

He slammed a hand against the mattress. The fabric crinkled. He looked drained. He stared at Vanessa and said quietly, "Find a way into that vault."

Vanessa looked at him, hesitation in her eyes. She took a breath. "Aren’t you the one with the system? You can do that, not me." She tried to sit beside him but—

Liam sighed and pushed her hand away gently. He slowly stood again, body aching, then stepped toward the keypad. As his fingers neared the buttons, Vanessa jerked forward and grabbed him by the arm.

Before his hand touched the panel, they both were yanked backwards by a sudden gust—and in one swift motion Vanessa pulled Liam into Arthur’s wardrobe. The door slammed shut behind them with a soft click.

It was tight inside, suits hanging down, dark wood walls pressing close. Multiple shirts brushed against their faces. Liam’s legs were folded awkwardly, and he felt Vanessa press herself close into a hanging suit. Outside, the silence was immediate and deep.

They crouched inside, frozen. Liam’s eyes sought across the interior. There was barely any space—just enough to squeeze both bodies inside. Hanging clothes blocked vision outward, but Vanessa had turned her head just enough to peer through a gap between a shirt and a jacket.

Soft footsteps echoed in the hallway beyond the door. Vanished. Returned. Tangible now.

Liam whispered, "Someone’s coming."

Vanessa didn’t respond. She pressed her ear flat against the wood. Liam held his breath. The sound of three voices drifted in—two feminine, one masculine. The tone had confidence and arrogance. They were talking casually.

Arthur’s voice was smooth, casual. "I’m gonna take you girls to places."

A female voice laughed softly. Another voice, lower and heavier, spoke—perhaps a third girl. The words leaked through the thin panel.

Arthur’s tone shifted. "First, drinks. Then you three will have your heart filled."

"What is this serum that you speak of anyway?" One of the girl’s asked.

Arthur laughed loudly, "It’s a magical serum, shit gives me unlimited energy and strength for an hour"