Chapter 8 - The Siege of Hale Manor
Before the gunsmoke in the study could clear, the loud, wailing siren of the estate’s outer perimeter defense system blared through the building!
Red emergency lights flashed along the hallways.
The heavy glass of the study window shattered as high-caliber automatic fire sprayed across the room, tearing through the wooden bookshelves and leather furniture!
I dropped to the floor behind the solid oak desk as Dante shrieked, hit by a stray bullet from his own allies outside.
Viktor burst into the study, carrying an assault rifle, his tactical vest secured. "Boss! We're under attack! Three heavy transport vans just breached the front gates! It's Moretti's primary strike force!"
"Where are they coming from?!" I yelled over the deafening roar of gunfire.
"The courtyard! They brought fifty men!" Viktor shouted, firing out the shattered window into the foggy night. "Dante’s phone must have had an automated kill-switch ping! Moretti knew we caught him!"
My mind immediately jumped to the third floor. Lily. Grace.
"Hold the stairwell!" I ordered Viktor, pulling a secondary submachine gun from the hidden compartment under my desk. "Do not let a single man reach the Master Suite!"
I sprinted out of the study, taking the grand stairs three at a time as bullets tore through the plaster walls of the foyer. Below us, my loyal guards were engaged in a violent, bloody gunfight with Moretti's masked mercenaries, the sound of explosions shaking the foundation of the house.
I reached the third floor landing just as two heavily armed mercenaries scaled the balcony railing!
Without stopping, I opened fire, driving them back over the ledge in a hail of lead.
I reached the Master Suite door and slapped my palm against the biometric scanner. The heavy steel vault door unlatched with a loud pneumatic hiss.
Inside, Grace was standing near the bed, holding a iron fireplace poker in her hands, her body positioned directly in front of Lily, who was crying under the blankets.
"Julian!" Grace gasped as I slammed the door shut behind me.
I rushed over, grabbing both of them.
"The vault is bulletproof, but they brought heavy explosives," I told Grace, my hands gripping her shoulders tightly. "There's an escape tunnel behind the wardrobe. It leads to the underground garage where my armored sedan is parked. Take Lily and go!"
"No!" Grace cried out, grabbing my blood-stained jacket. "I'm not leaving you behind again!"
"Grace, listen to me!" I shouted, looking deep into her tear-filled eyes. "I just got my daughter back! I am not going to lose her—or you—in this house! Take the keys! Drive to the safehouse in Maine! I will finish this tonight!"
Lily reached out her little arms from the bed, sobbing. "Daddy! Don't go!"
I leaned down, pressing a hard kiss to my daughter's forehead, then turned to Grace, cupping her cheek with my hand.
"Go," I whispered. "I'll find you. I swear on my life."
Grace swallowed her tears, gave a nod of fierce determination, grabbed Lily, and sprinted into the dark hidden doorway behind the mahogany wardrobe.
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I turned back to the main vault door, drawing my weapons, a terrifying smile breaking across my face as the sound of Moretti's men echoed down the hallway.
It was time to end the Moretti family forever.
