Chapter 181 – How is this even possible?
"Is it what I think it is?" Corvine asked, his voice carrying a fragile kind of hope that he didn’t dare hold onto too tightly, even as the sound of hurried footsteps began to echo through the tunnel, not just one set but several, overlapping and uneven, growing louder with every passing second until it became impossible to ignore what it meant.
The noise built quickly, filling the space with urgency, with movement, with life, and before anyone could even fully process it, it became painfully clear that a large group of people was rushing toward the exit.
Corvine felt it before he even realized what was happening, the sting of tears gathering in his eyes, his chest tightening as something inside him cracked open under the weight of relief.
"It worked," he whispered, his voice unsteady, almost disbelieving, like he needed to hear himself say it out loud to make it real. "They’re coming out, the hostages are coming out."
Stanley didn’t react the same way.
He stood completely still, his body locked in place as he stared into the darkness ahead, his eyes wide, his expression frozen somewhere between shock and confusion, like his mind refused to catch up with what was unfolding right in front of him.
"How is this even possible?" he muttered under his breath, the question slipping out before he could stop it.
Voren didn’t spare him sympathy. "Are you planning to stand there all night staring?" he asked coldly, his tone sharp enough to snap through the moment like a blade and that was enough.
Stanley snapped out of it immediately, the hesitation vanishing as professionalism took over, his posture straightening as he stepped forward and slipped into command mode without missing a beat, his voice rising as he started issuing orders, calling for backup, coordinating with emergency responders the second communication opened from their side.
Everything moved fast after that. Leon arrived only moments later, his expression strained, his breathing uneven, the panic he had been holding in during the drive still written all over his face as his eyes scanned the scene desperately.
"Corvine, where is Sera?" he asked immediately, the question coming out before anything else mattered.
Corvine turned his head toward the distant building, but the answer never came, the words catching in his throat as the first wave of hostages began pouring out of the tunnel in overwhelming numbers.
It wasn’t just a few but dozens, then more. They stumbled forward in clusters, some injured, some barely able to walk, others breaking down into tears the moment they reached open air, their faces hollow with exhaustion, their bodies worn down from hunger and fear in ways that were impossible to miss.
"There have to be at least a hundred people still inside," Corvine said quietly, the realization settling heavily as he turned toward Voren, urgency taking over again. "We need to go in there."
Voren didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked toward Stanley, his expression hardening into something unyielding, something that made it clear he had already made his decision.
"I hope you and your men can handle things out here," he said, his tone calm but carrying a quiet warning beneath it. "And you better hope we bring her out alive, because if we don’t, you’re never getting that evidence."
For the first time since all of this began, Stanley didn’t look uncertain, didn’t look hesitant, didn’t look like a man second-guessing what he was dealing with.
Every trace of doubt disappeared from his face. "Take care of yourself," he said, his voice lower now, more grounded. "The second my team gets here, I’m coming in after you."
Voren gave a single nod before turning away, already moving, already focused, but just as he started forward, Stanley’s voice stopped him again.
"There’s chaos everywhere right now," he called out, his tone serious. "If Santiago planned ahead, then there’s a good chance he left something waiting for you inside."
The warning hung in the air, heavy with implication, but Voren didn’t hesitate.
Even if the entire place had been collapsing around him, with every possible threat stacked against him, there was no version of this where he would turn back while Seraphine was still trapped somewhere inside that building, possibly hurt, or surrounded by enemies, waiting for help that might never come if he walked away now.
Leaving her behind was not an option. "He built that place to protect himself," Voren said, his gaze fixed on the towering structure ahead, his voice low and steady even as something darker simmered underneath it. "But that’s exactly where he messed up."
There was no hesitation in his tone now, only certainty.
"Everything inside is sealed off, completely soundproof, the guards outside operate separately from the ones inside, the network is jammed so nothing gets through, and none of the biometric systems are functional anymore," he continued, laying it out with precision.
Stanley frowned deeply as he followed his line of sight, trying to make sense of it, trying to understand how someone could walk into something like that without getting trapped.
"Then how exactly are you planning to get in?" he asked, his gaze moving between Voren and the heavily guarded structure.
For a brief moment, it looked like he might suggest using the tunnel, but Voren only gave a faint smile, one that carried no warmth. "I’ll handle that," he replied simply. "You just focus on keeping those people alive."
Stanley gave a firm nod, his voice steady. "Leave that to me."
The moment barely had time to settle before movement erupted again, several guards rushing toward them from the far side of the property, their footsteps sharp against the concrete as they raised their weapons without hesitation.
Corvine and Voren reacted instantly, their hands moving toward their guns, but Stanley moved faster, his shots precise and controlled as he took the guards down before either of them even had the chance to fire.
When Voren glanced back at him, Stanley met his gaze and gave a short nod. "I’ve got your back," he said.
There was no need for anything else. Voren and Corvine moved immediately, pushing deeper into the estate without looking back, leaving Stanley behind to handle what remained outside until reinforcements arrived.
Only after backup finally showed up did Stanley allow himself to move again, determination replacing whatever fear had been there earlier as he started searching for a way inside, because standing back and watching was no longer something he could tolerate.
Inside the fortress, every step became harder.
Corvine knew the layout better than anyone, every hallway, every staircase, every hidden turn etched into his memory from the countless hours he and Seraphine had spent studying the map together, preparing for exactly this kind of situation.
Even with that advantage, it wasn’t easy. Armed guards were everywhere.
They lurked in corridors, waited near stairwells, hovered around corners like shadows ready to strike, turning every movement into a risk.
"No matter what happens, stay close to me," Voren said as they pushed through another hallway, stepping over broken furniture and unconscious bodies while the distant sound of gunfire and screams echoed through the structure.
They both paused, and what Voren said next hit Corvine harder than anything else so far.