d57.NO ONE COULD APPROACH THE DYING, UNCONSCIOUS MAFIA BOSS — UNTIL HIS DESPERATE GUARD DOG PICKED A POOR NURSE...

The moment the screen turned green, every electronic system in the mansion malfunctioned simultaneously.

The smart lights flickered and went out. The electronic locks on the perimeter gates slammed shut, locking from the inside. Down at the front entrance, the six black SUVs parked by Julian’s hired operatives suddenly found their engines cut as the security grid went into total lockdown.

Outside the ICU room, a loud alarm began to chime—a deep, pulsing tone signifying a security breach protocol.

Heavy footsteps pounded down the corridor.

"Nurse Vance!" Marco’s voice shouted through the thick door. "Open up! Julian just ordered his men inside the house! They're moving toward the medical wing!"

Clara rushed to the door, unlocking it and pulling Marco inside.

Marco had his weapon drawn, his face dark with sweat. "Julian realized his accounts were wiped thirty seconds ago. He knows the data was moved from this room. He’s burning everything down."

Adrian pushed himself up against the pillows, wincing as his abdominal stitches strained, but his voice was iron. "Marco."

Marco froze, looking at his boss awake and clear-eyed for the first time in six hours. "Boss! Thank God."

"How many men... do we have... loyal?" Adrian demanded.

"Twelve," Marco replied instantly. "The core guard. The rest are pinned outside or took orders from Julian when they thought you were dying."

"Twelve is enough," Adrian said, turning his gaze to Clara. "Clara... you need to leave. There is a service tunnel behind the linen closet in this wing. It leads to the ravine road."

"I'm not leaving you," Clara said flatly, her chin lifted in defiance. "I didn't crawl past a hundred-and-fifty-pound mastiff just to let your corrupt brother finish the job."

Adrian stared at her, a strange, profound expression crossing his dark features—a mix of awe, respect, and something far deeper.

Titan stood beside Clara, leaning his heavy shoulder against her hip, confirming her words with an unyielding growl toward the hallway.

"She stays," Titan seemed to say.

"Alright," Adrian rasped, a fierce glint returning to his eyes. "Marco... open the armory lockers in the corridor. Arm the twelve. We take the house back."

Before Marco could move, a heavy thud slammed against the reinforced steel door of the ICU.

"Adrian!" Julian’s voice echoed through the intercom system, stripped of all politeness, raw with frantic, manic rage. "Open the door! You think freezing my accounts changes anything?! I have twenty men outside this hallway! Give me the drive, or nobody leaves this wing alive!"

Adrian picked up the remote microphone linked to the room's exterior speaker. He held it to his lips, his voice echoing through the corridor with absolute, terrifying calm:

"Julian. You brought twenty men to a house guarded by a dog who knows your scent... and a brother who built the room you're standing in."

Adrian hit a red switch on the side of his bed frame.

The ceiling sprinklers in the corridor didn't spray water. They released a thick, high-density fire-suppression foam combined with tear gas, flooding the hallway outside within three seconds.

Shouts, coughing, and frantic gunfire erupted outside as Julian’s men were instantly blinded and disoriented in the narrow, zero-visibility hallway.

"Now, Marco!" Adrian ordered.