The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 311

The hallway felt like it was holding its breath.

The only sound was the clock on the wall, each tick winding Lucie’s nerves tighter. She pressed her back to the cold wall, hands clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms.

Ruby hovered nearby and whispered, “Ms. Anderson, Mr. Heath… he’ll figure this out, right?”

Lucie didn’t respond. She just stared at the closed door.

No matter how much she hated Steven, she’d never doubted his skill or his methods. If he wanted something done, it got done.

Half an hour crawled by.

Finally, the door clicked open.

Steven strode out, calm and collected, his black suit still sharp as ever. He flicked a bit of dust off his cuff like nothing had happened.

Right behind him, two bodyguards dragged out Jose and Nathan.

Both men looked like they’d seen a ghost—faces white, bodies shaking so hard they could barely stand. The bravado they’d had earlier was gone, replaced by pure terror.

Steven’s voice was icy. “Talk.”

Nathan’s legs buckled and he dropped to his knees, voice shaking. “There’s… there’s an old warehouse outside the city. A shipping container. Number KB739. Everything’s in there. We—we didn’t get a chance to move it yet…”

Jose looked like he’d aged ten years, his voice barely more than a stammer. “Mr. Heath, Ms. Anderson, we… we just got greedy. Please, just this once, let us go!”

He fell face-first on the floor, banging his head over and over.

“Mr. Heath, please! Have mercy! I’m begging you!”

They weren’t scared of Ms. Anderson. If she pressed charges, the worst they’d get was prison. New Amberton didn’t have the death penalty. Life behind bars meant twenty-two years, tops.

But Steven Heath? He was something else entirely. He could wipe out their whole families and make it look perfectly legal.

Steven’s face didn’t change. “Begging me won’t help.”

The two men scrambled to Lucie’s feet, desperate. “Ms. Anderson, please give us another chance! We just lost our heads, we—”

Lucie straightened, her heart pounding.

All the security she’d been so proud of, undone by such simple tricks. The treasures her family had guarded for generations had almost vanished overnight.

Steven watched, expression unreadable. His voice was sharp and cold. “Kun, take the team to the location and get the artifacts.”

Kun nodded, all business. “Yes, Mr. Heath.”

He and the others left to follow Nathan’s directions.

Steven waited a beat, then fixed the two men with a chilling stare. “Every single piece better be there. However you took them, you bring them back, exactly the same.”

“If not, you’ll answer for it.”

Jose and Nathan smashed their heads against the floor, the sound echoing down the hall. Blood soon appeared on their foreheads.

“We wouldn’t dare! Not a single thing will be missing!”

Nathan broke down, tears and snot running everywhere. “Mr. Heath, Ms. Anderson, I was greedy and stupid. I just wanted fast money, I never meant to destroy those treasures!”

“But… but three items have already been sold overseas. We… we might not be able to get them back. But I can return the money we made from the sale…”