Chapter 7 - Interrogating The Housekeeper In The Dim Servants Quarters
Marcus handcuffed Mrs. Gable securely to a heavy iron wine rack before sprinting back up the subterranean service stairs.
He pushed open the heavy fire door, taking the steps three at a time as he raced toward the central security control bunker.
His mind raced with terrifying scenarios regarding what Vance meant about Lily holding the key inside her stuffed animal.
When he reached the control room door, the electronic lock was still engaged, blocking his entry from the hallway side.
Marcus pulled a specialized keycard from his tactical vest, swiping it through the exterior wall scanner to override the lockdown.
The green light flashed, and the heavy steel door swung inward, revealing an empty room bathed in red emergency strobes.
"Lily! Lily, where are you?!" Marcus shouted, his voice echoing frantically across the high-tech monitoring consoles.
A muffled sob came from behind the steel equipment rack in the far corner of the sprawling room.
Marcus dropped to his knees, throwing the heavy metal equipment rack aside to find Lily curled up clutching her teddy bear.
"Daddy! The bad man on the TV said I had something special inside my bear!" Lily cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
Marcus held her tight, his eyes scanning the plush toy for any hidden electronic tracking devices or concealed data modules.
He noticed a small, concealed seam on the bear's back that had been freshly hand-stitched with dark blue nylon thread.
Using his tactical pocket knife, Marcus carefully snipped the thread, pulling a small silver micro-chip out from the stuffing.
It was a military-grade quantum encryption drive containing the master access codes to the entire Vance Corporation global network.
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Sarah, his late wife, must have hidden it inside the toy years ago before entrusting their daughter with her final legacy.
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