Chapter 120: Lifting the Scales
The heavy oak doors of the Purnas Mansion closed with a soft thud behind Richard and Jack. Dressed in crisp business suits that felt strangely constricting after hours of tense revelations, they walked towards the waiting black sedan. Ciano, Richard’s personal security detail, moved with practiced efficiency, already holding the rear passenger door open.
They slid onto the plush leather seats, and the moment the door clicked shut, a collective, audible sigh escaped them both. Richard leaned his head back, eyes closing. "That was... intense."
Jack collapsed beside him, running a hand through his hair. "Intense? Grandpa was relentless! Five hours, bro. Five. Hours!" He threw his hands up in mock exasperation, though the exhaustion in his voice was real. "I swear I saw steam coming out of his ears at one point."
Richard managed a small, tired smile, opening his eyes. "He deserved to know. Most of it, anyway. We couldn’t keep something like this hidden from him forever."
"Yeah, well, he almost had an aneurysm when you showed him the deep levels," Jack muttered, still picturing Estello’s face.
The immediate aftermath of their high-stakes confession hung heavy in the air, a mixture of relief and residual tension. The close bond between the two, forged through years and now tested by extraordinary secrets, allowed them to share this exhausting experience with a grim camaraderie. This ’talk’ was clearly a monumental turning point for Estello and Anita.
Five hours earlier...
The mood in the Purnas Mansion Underground Base had been drastically different. Richard and Jack stood before Estello, the holographic schematics of the expanded base swirling above a central table. Estello’s jaw was clenched, his eyes wide with disbelief and a rapidly escalating anger.
"Three floors? Three floors?" Estello’s voice rose, incredulous, echoing slightly in the vast chamber. He pointed a trembling finger at the swirling blue lines of the projection. "You built this beneath my feet and you kept it from me?! All I knew was a small room! A few machines! To think I wouldn’t noticed three more floors of underground bunker?" His anger was a physical presence, radiating off him like heat. He metaphorically "chased" them with his fury, his demands for explanations bordering on an intent to inflict physical harm.