Jack returned to the fifth floor quietly, his heavy footsteps making no sound against the polished dark-timber flooring of the executive wing. The soundproofed corridor stretched long and silent, illuminated only by ambient blue LED panels recessed beneath the baseboards.
The two elite Black Rose guards stationed outside his private guest suite stood at rigid, textbook attention—their eyes locked straight ahead, completely focused on the elevator doors at the far end of the hall.
Until Jack materialized smoothly from the dark shadow of the service alcove directly behind them.
The guards froze. Their eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock. Their hands dropped instinctively toward their holstered sidearms like men who had just realized an apex predator had slipped past their perimeter without triggering a single sensor. A cold sweat broke out along their brow as they turned their heads slowly, staring at him as if looking at a ghost.
