Chapter 6 - Marcus Drops the Tools
Marcus was not family.
That made him the first one to understand consequences.
He looked from Ethan to Diane, then to the locked rear door, then down at his metal tools scattered across Claire’s office floor.
His face went gray.
“I was told this was a marital property access issue.”
Ethan snapped, “It is.”
Marcus pointed toward the surveillance monitor.
“Then why is she calling it evidence?”
Diane’s eyes widened.
“Don’t say that word.”
Claire heard everything.
The camera in the office ceiling captured Marcus’s tool case open beside the exposed safe.
Another camera captured the two accomplices holding boxes.
Another caught Diane with the bracelet.
Another caught Ethan with the decoy corporate folder.
All angles.
All preserved.
Julian’s voice murmured through Claire’s earpiece.
“Exterior activity approaching the driveway.”
Claire looked toward the windows.
Faint red and blue reflections began to move across the glass.
She did not turn her head.
She did not reveal who was outside.
The prompt of the moment demanded suspense, not resolution.
Inside, Ethan saw the color shift across the marble floor.
His face drained.
“No.”
Diane followed his gaze.
The bracelet rattled as her hand flew to her throat.
“Are those—”
Claire cut in through the intercom.
“Careful, Diane. Cameras hear guesses too.”
Diane clamped her mouth shut.
Ethan took one aggressive step toward the monitor.
“Claire, open the door.”
She looked straight into the camera.
“No.”
His eyes stretched wide with rage.
“This is my home.”
Claire’s expression did not change.
“You arrived with a locksmith.”
The silence after that was brutal.
Even the accomplices looked away from Ethan.
Marcus slowly raised both hands.
“I’m not touching anything else.”
Ethan turned on him.
“You’re finishing the safe.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No, sir. I’m done.”
The first defection happened quietly.
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Claire watched it like a crack opening through Ethan’s control.
Read Chapter 7 👉 Because Marcus realized he had been used, and Ethan’s command stopped sounding powerful once no one wanted to obey.
