Chapter 6 - Night of the Wolf
The confrontation shattered into violence in a split second.
Knowing he was exposed, Victor didn't hesitate. He pulled a concealed suppressed pistol from his jacket and aimed it straight at Damian’s chest!
"Damian, move!" Leo roared, drawing his weapon and diving across the table.
POP! POP!
The muffled gunshots echoed sharply. Damian rolled behind the heavy mahogany table, pulling Maren and the two children down with him, shielding them completely with his broad body.
"Get them to the panic room!" Damian shouted to Leo, drawing his own custom black gun from his waist holster.
Outside the mansion, thunder crashed violently across the dark Chicago sky. Torrential rain slammed against the glass windows as sudden emergency alarms began blaring across the entire estate. Red emergency lights flickered on, casting eerie shadows down the corridors.
Victor had planned for this day. Knowing the poison would eventually be discovered once Maren intervened, he had already paid off six estate guards and hired a team of mercenary hitmen from the Moretti syndicate, who were currently breaching the outer iron gates under the cover of the thunderstorm!
"He cut the main power lines!" Leo yelled, firing down the hallway as Victor’s corrupt guards returned fire. "The backup generator is running, but the security cameras are dead!"
Maren cradled Nora and Aria in her arms, crouching low behind the stone fireplace in the main hall. Both girls were crying softly, terrified by the loud gunshots and red flashing lights.
"Maren!" Damian called out, turning to her amidst the chaotic gunfire. He grabbed her face in his hands, his dark eyes burning with fierce, absolute devotion. "Take Aria and Nora through the servant tunnel behind the study pantry. It leads to the reinforced safe room in the basement. Do not open the door for anyone except me or Leo. Do you understand me?"
"Damian, no!" Maren cried out, her hands gripping his wrist. "They have mercenaries! You can't fight them alone!"
"They came into my house," Damian growled, his jaw set like granite, a deadly, terrifying smile touching his lips. "They touched my family. None of them are leaving this estate alive."
He leaned in, pressing a fierce, swift kiss to Maren’s forehead—a gesture so raw and filled with unspoken love that it stunned her into silence.
"Go! Now!" Damian commanded.
Maren didn't waste another second. She picked up Nora in her left arm, grabbed Aria’s hand with her right, and sprinted down the dark hallway toward the study pantry.
Behind them, the estate exploded into a warzone. Gunfire shattered glass, shouting echoed off the marble walls, and Damian Cross turned from a grieving father into the ruthless, terrifying wolf of Chicago.
Maren pulled open the hidden bookshelf door in the pantry, ushering the little girls down the narrow, dimly lit stone staircase that led deep beneath the mansion.
"Mommy, I'm scared!" Nora sobbed, clutching Barnaby tight to her chest.
"I know, baby, I know," Maren whispered, holding both girls close as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "We are safe here. Mommy is right here."
The safe room was a massive steel-reinforced bunker equipped with food, medical supplies, and heavy electronic security locks. Maren pushed Aria and Nora inside, slamming the thick steel door shut and throwing the heavy iron latch into place.
Suddenly, heavy, metallic footsteps echoed down the stone staircase behind them.
Maren whirled around, grabbing an iron crowbar from the emergency tool rack near the wall.
Through the thick bulletproof glass window of the bunker door, a shadow appeared.
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Victor Kane stood in the hallway, covered in rain and blood, holding a heavy tactical rifle. His face was twisted into a psychotic, desperate sneer.
"Open the door, Mrs. Doyle!" Victor shouted, pounding his heavy fist against the reinforced glass. "Damian is dead! My men have taken the estate! Open this door and hand over the girl, or I will blow this entire wing to hell!"
