At first, nothing seemed to happen.

But within the next second, the tiles trembled underfoot as the entire bathroom began to descend, smooth and silent, the sound swallowed by an intricate enchantment matrix. This was no crude mechanism; it was an engineered masterpiece designed by a now-dead enchanter because she knew too much.

The descent took a full minute. A long, heavy minute filled with the low vibration of hidden machinery.

When it stopped, the marble walls parted like sliding doors.

A hidden corridor stretched before him, lit by clean white lights and lined with reinforced metal panels. The smell of cold steel and sterilized air replaced the lavender scent of his bathroom.

Maximilian stepped out with the corners of his mouth curling upward.

Let them investigate. Let them send their little agents with their warrants and cameras and empty righteousness.

He wasn't stupid enough to keep anything important above ground.

"The government dogs can dig all they want. At best, they'll find a few suspicious documents and some encrypted drives. The rest is just hearsay. The President will make a speech about justice, I'll 'cooperate fully,' and then the case will dissolve in a few months."

He smiled, sharp and self-satisfied.

"Maybe I'll even get a public apology. Wouldn't that be something? The comeback of the century."

Behind him, the elevator-bathroom sealed itself and rose back to the surface, leaving no trace of its existence.

Maximilian stepped onto a round metal platform. Mana-filled machinery surrounded him, and in the blink of an eye, the world distorted.

When his vision cleared, he stood several kilometers away, inside his real fortress.

A vast underground facility stretched out before him. Metallic catwalks crossed above fields of artificial soil bathed in harsh white light. Rows upon rows of workers, barefoot, ragged, eyes hollow, tended to underground crops. Maximilian needed a self-sustaining underground facility in case he was in deep trouble and had to disappear.

As for the workers? They were imported slaves, taken from the forgotten corners of the world. From slums, warzones, and disaster-stricken countries, where a few dozen missing people barely registered as news.

Even Maximilian wasn't brave enough to kidnap Americans. He knew better than to draw that kind of heat. The most he did was blackmail them, such as what he had done with Alexandra, using evil contracts.

Around the perimeter, towering iron golems stood. One of the slaves stumbled. The golem beside her turned, gears whirring, and slammed its fist against the ground beside her head in warning. She scrambled back to work, trembling.

Maximilian's footsteps echoed as he descended a grated walkway. He inhaled deeply and felt immense pride and satisfaction. This was his true kingdom. All his hard work amounted to such a magnificent stronghold in a place not even the best investigators would find.

He moved deeper into the complex, the catwalks giving way to broader corridors.

The hum of generators dimmed as he stepped away from the farms and toward the inner facility. Security doors parted at the swipe of his ring; a bank of cameras tracked his approach and shifted their lenses away on cue. This was the part of the operation he never let anyone but his closest colleagues see.

A gate slid open before him. A chamber was revealed before his eyes. It held a pathway with numerous doors. There were at least 20.

A name plate over the doorway read Slut #1.

The door slid open, revealing a sleeping young woman, curled into herself, face drawn with the exhaustion of someone who'd learned to sleep on the edge of fear.

At the sound of the door, she snapped awake.

Her eyes flooded with instant terror, pupils blown wide. She scrambled to sit. When she saw him, she tried to make herself small.

"Please…!!" she whispered before she could stop herself, voice already breaking. "Please, Master Vice, please let me go back! I'll do anything! I'll do everything you want! I won't speak to anyone. I swear I won't betray you like Alexandra had-"

Maximilian's face hardened.

"On your knees."

It was said that Maximilian wasn't brave enough to kidnap Americans.

But that was only until his hand was forced.

Now that he was already in the spotlight, he had to take risks to cover his tracks.

Some who were too troublesome to kidnap were found dead with suspicious circumstances, while those who were easy to move were locked in his dungeon.

Mirissa folded immediately upon hearing his command. Desperation made her obey before she even processed the command. She crawled, hands scraping the metal floor, and collapsed into a trembling, supplicating heap. "I'll do whatever you say. Please, my parents! Please, they must be worried to death. Just let me go back for a day, please!"

Maximilian watched her plead for a moment, each word only confirming his contempt. Then he formed his hand into a fist and slammed it into the back of her head. The blow was quick and precise, making the cold floor hit the woman thanks to the impact.

"You think I'm a fool? I won't risk another person speaking up. You will do as I say if you want to live. If you don't... I have plenty more women to serve my needs. If not you or your entitled white bitch friends, then you saw what's outside, right? I could import more of those things on a whim, but I just don't like niggers and chinks. White women are the best. But if push comes to shove, I will make do with what I have."

He crouched, close enough that she could see the contempt in his eyes. He had always cultivated an image: cultured, untouchable, above the law. But beneath it all was a predator who thought in terms of leverage and replacement, not people.

"Speaking of your parents… Do I really have to say it out loud? I know where they live. I know their names, their routines, and that they have a pet dog and a hamster. I even know their wifi password and that they keep a key beneath the porch. Should I keep going?"

"No! No! Please! Anything but my parents!" Hearing his threat, Mirissa folded instantly. She reached up for Maximilian's pants with a broken, bleeding nose and a brain that was spinning from the concussion she had just received.

Satisfied, he placed both hands on her head and leaned back. He even started humming contentedly.

What Maximilian didn't know, however, was that despite all his precautions, he made a mistake.

Reckoning was coming.

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