Chapter 4 - The Betrayal Within
"Sniper!" Claire yelled, tackling Vincent and dragging him and the children flat against the floor below the window line.
A second round slammed into the stone balustrade outside, sending a shower of sharp granite fragments across the carpet.
Vincent shielded Lucas with his own body, his eyes blazing with a terrifying realization. "They aren't just trying to poison the boys. They're executing a full-scale takeover." He looked down at Dr. Blake, who was chuckling softly despite being pinned to the floor. "Your corporate board... Marcus Sterling."
Blake’s smile widened, though blood bubbled at the corner of his lips. "Marcus sends his regards. With you and your heirs dead in a tragic 'estate gas leak,' the emergency succession clause activates. The board takes full control of Moretti Global, and the medical patents your company acquired last year get quietly liquidated to our international partners."
"You sold out my sons for a corporate payout," Vincent snarled, his hand tightening into a fist.
"I secured my retirement," Blake wheezed. "And yours is about to be permanent."
Suddenly, the heavy oak door to the master suite rattled. Someone was trying to override the electronic lock from the outside with a heavy breaching tool. Wood splintered around the frame.
"We can't stay here," Claire said, her mind racing. She scooped Leo back into her arms. "Vincent, is there another exit from this wing?"
"The dumbwaiter shaft in the service pantry," Vincent said, pulling Dr. Blake up by his collar and shoving him toward the hallway. "It connects directly to the subterranean garage."
"Move, move, move!" Claire urged.
They burst out of the suite into the dim, red-lit corridor just as the master suite door crashed open. Two masked figures dressed in tactical gear and carrying suppressed automatic carbines stepped through the wreckage.
"There!" one of them shouted, raising his weapon.
Vincent shoved Dr. Blake directly into the line of fire. A suppressed crack echoed, and Blake let out a gurgling shriek as a round caught him square in the shoulder, dropping him instantly.
"Monster!" Blake screamed, clutching his bleeding arm.
"Consider it professional courtesy," Vincent snapped, firing a heavy bronze decorative statue he’d snatched from a side table straight at the lead mercenary, forcing them to duck.
Claire and Vincent sprinted down the remaining length of the hall toward the service pantry, clutching the unconscious twins tightly. They wrenched open the small wooden service door enclosing the old dumbwaiter shaft.
"Get in," Vincent ordered, helping Claire and Leo squeeze into the cramped metal compartment. He climbed in behind them, pulling the heavy metal latch shut from the inside just as heavy boots thundered down the hallway outside.
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"The cables won't hold all of us at top speed," Claire warned as Vincent hit the emergency manual descent brake.
"They'll hold," Vincent said grimly. He pulled a heavy utility lever, and the metal box plummeted downward into the dark shaft with a stomach-churning drop toward the basement.
