The Deceitful One

Bryan looked around the warehouse one more time, making sure that everybody was dead. Yet, he wasn't reassured with just a sweep of his gaze. Hence, he went around the warehouse, closely examining every dead person.

After completely making sure, he cast Shadow Concealment on himself and exited the warehouse. It had already been 30 minutes since the massacre had begun.

The maids and servants in Brown Manor must have definitely heard the loud commotion and called the police by now. Bryan still had to loot Jack's house, hence, he rushed to the manor, in the dark of night.

He had already changed into his back three-piece suit and a black trench coat before exiting the warehouse. Furthermore, he had also changed into different shoes. Or else, he would be leaving a trail of bloody footprints wherever he went.

Bryan was very particular about not leaving behind any signs of him being present at the scene. After all, only an inexperienced thief would leave behind clues. As for Bryan, the art of theft was ingrained into his very blood and bones. He was no amateur!

Soon, he reached the three-storied Brown Manor. Bryan didn't take the front entrance but the hidden back entrance that Pyke had mentioned back at the police station.

Due to the severe torture that Bryan had put him through, Pyke had ended up spilling all the secrets related to the Brown Family as well as the ins and outs of the Brown Manor.

Now, Bryan knew exactly where the safes were hidden inside this three-storied villa. That's right, safes! The Brown Family didn't have one but two big safes stored in their villa.

Thinking about the amount of wealth that both the safes must have stored in them, Bryan couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

Wealthy families usually kept most of their wealth in their own houses. Although the banking system had been established for a few years now, no one was willing to trust someone else with safekeeping their hard-earned money.

The public banks in the Western Continent were still in their formative years and a lot of work was still needed to be done.

This was also the reason why Jeffrey Gill kept most of his money in the safe in his study. And the Brown Family was also the same.

Bryan entered the living room from the back entrance and what greeted him was a scene of maids and servants running around the house frantically.

'As expected, they heard the commotion in the warehouse. Looks like I don't have much time left before the police arrive.' Bryan thought inwardly as he rushed toward the basement first.

According to Pyke, one of the safes was kept in a hidden compartment on the northeast side of the basement. Bryan entered the basement where he saw a wine seller on one side and immediately made his way there.

He first stored all the barrels filled with wine and ale, then he grabbed all the expensive-looking wine bottles that were kept on the shelves along the wall.

After storing everything, Bryan moved the largest of the shelves and slid it to the side. After he pushed the wooden shelf away, his gaze landed on the brick wall behind it. However, Bryan wasn't disappointed.

'Tenth brick from the top… and it has 3 scratches on it.' He quickly searched for the brick with the description that was given by Pyke.

Soon his eyes lit up as his gaze fell on a slightly darkened brick with 3 vertical scratches on it. Bryan then stretched his right arm and pushed the brick in.

Soon, with a rumbling sound, the brick wall in front of him parted in two and a hidden compartment inside emerged.

Inside the hidden compartment, Bryan saw a silver-colored steel safe about 6 feet high and 4 feet wide. He quickly rushed inside and placed his hand on the silver safe.

Bryan wouldn't make the same foolish mistake he had made while he was robbing Jeffrey Gill's house. Moreover, time was of the essence. He had to get everything over with as quickly as possible.

He wrapped the safe with his spiritual force and then connected it to his silver pocket watch. In the next moment, the safe disappeared from the spot.

Bryan extended his spiritual force inside his pocket watch and saw that the safe was now kept beside the Book of Medici and the mask, Deceit. His lips curled up into a smile as he then exited the hidden compartment.

After coming out, he made sure to trigger the closing mechanism of the hidden compartment and shut it back. Everything now looked the same except for the missing wine bottles and barrels.

Bryan activated Shadow Concealment again and then quickly ran toward the master bedroom on the third floor. The quicker he left this place, the better. After all, he didn't want to take any risks.

What if someone amongst the police was a Transcendent? Although the probability of that happening was very low, Bryan sure didn't want to find that out personally. He was never the type to take risks.

Nimbly evading the panic-stricken servants inside the manor, Bryan finally reached the master bedroom and entered through the door. He then straight away went to the wardrobe.

After putting aside all the clothes kept in the hanger inside, he pulled a lever that was previously hidden behind the clothes in an inconspicuous spot. Soon, another hidden passageway appeared behind the wardrobe.

'These bastards sure are secretive…' Bryan thought in his heart as he made his way in and saw another silver-colored safe, the exact same size as the one in the basement.

After quickly storing this one as well, Bryan exited the passageway and activated the lever again to close the entrance to the hidden passageway.

Bryan finally breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way out of the master bedroom. While still under Shadow Concealment, Bryan exited the Brown Manor and ran toward the central part of Damascus.

He made sure to not take any main roads that could be occupied by the incoming police carriages. As he ran towards Robinson Street, Bryan could hear the sound of batons hitting against metal.

This was usually how the police communicated with each other over long distances within the city. They would find the nearest lamp post or any metallic structure and strike their batons against it, notifying the nearest police officers of their location.

Tonight's battle put a heavy strain on Bryan both physically and mentally. He couldn't wait to go back to his apartment and pass out. Cracking both safes could wait until tomorrow morning until he had replenished his energy.

Thinking about both the safes that were safely stored in his silver pocket watch, Bryan couldn't help but smile brightly as he continued to run through the dark alleyways under the moonlight.

'Rich! Super Rich! I've hit the jackpot, hehe.' Bryan thought gleefully.