The heavy iron door swung open with a deafening screech, scraping against the newly exposed brick and sending a fresh wave of panic through the hallway[cite: 6]. Marcus: Get behind me, both of you! I'm calling the police and the state attorney right now[cite: 6]. Marcus commanded fiercely, pulling his phone from his pocket with one hand while holding Lily protectively with the other[cite: 6]. Sarah: Phones won't work in this house, Marcus! The estate has an active signal jammer wired directly into the master electrical grid[cite: 6]. Sarah screamed, watching the signal bars on the screen drop to zero in real-time[cite: 6]. Marcus: This is insane! How are we supposed to survive if we're completely cut off from the outside world?[cite: 6] Marcus panicked, looking frantically toward the front glass windows for a way out[cite: 6]. Figure in the Shadows: You can never escape the family legacy, Sarah... we built these walls with our own blood[cite: 6]. A raspy, ancient voice echoed from the pitch-black interior of the hidden room, sending chills down their spines[cite: 6]. Sarah: Uncle Richard? No... the board of directors told me you passed away in the private clinic fire decades ago![cite: 6] Sarah gasped, stepping forward in sheer disbelief as an elderly, disheveled man stepped out into the hallway light[cite: 6]. Richard: The fire was just a corporate cover story to protect the family trust fund from federal embezzlement charges[cite: 6]. The man sneered, his long, claw-like fingernails tapping rhythmically against the door frame[cite: 6]. Marcus: You're the missing billionaire patriarch from the 1990s headlines! The police have been searching for you for thirty years[cite: 6]. Marcus stared in shock, recognizing the face from old financial newspaper clippings[cite: 6]. Richard: And now you've found us, which means nobody gets to leave this estate alive until the corporate merger is signed[cite: 6]. Richard laughed coldly, stepping further out onto the marble floor while blocking their only path to the front exit[cite: 6]. Sarah: Don't touch my family! Take the mansion, take the money, take everything, just let us walk out of these gates![cite: 6] Sarah begged, throwing herself between the terrifying figure and her husband[cite: 6].