Chapter 6 - Breach
Inside the master suite, the sudden wail of the alarm shattered the quiet evening.
Elena bolted upright from the sofa where she had been folding Emma’s clothes, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. Emma woke up with a start, whimpering softly and reaching out for her mother.
"Mama, what's that noise?" Emma cried, clinging tightly to Elena’s neck.
Before Elena could answer, the heavy double doors flew open, and Marko rushed inside, his weapon drawn and his face set in a grim, urgent mask.
"We have to move, now," Marko said, grabbing Elena’s arm gently but firmly. "Intruders breached the perimeter. The boss sent me to get you to the safe room."
"Intruders?" Elena’s breath hitched, the terror she had spent weeks locking away rushing back with paralyzing force. "What about Alessandro? Where is he?"
"He's taking care of it," Marko said tightly, escorting them down the private corridor toward the third-floor study. "Trust me, nobody gets past the boss in his own house."
They reached the study just as the heavy glass windows on the ground floor shattered with a deafening crash, followed by the terrifying, rhythmic pop-pop-pop of silenced gunfire echoing up through the stairwell.
Marko shoved open the concealed bookcase panel in the corner of the study, revealing a reinforced steel panic room equipped with monitors, communications arrays, and emergency supplies.
"Get inside," Marko commanded, pushing Elena and Emma gently across the threshold.
"No," Elena gasped, grabbing Marko’s jacket. "I can't just hide while Alessandro is out there fighting an army!"
"Listen to me, Elena," Marko said, his eyes fierce and unyielding. "The boss’s only weakness right now is you. If Rossi’s men get their hands on you, Alessandro loses everything. Stay inside this room, lock the biometric seal, and do not open it for anyone except me or the boss. Do you understand?"
Before Elena could reply, a volley of gunfire erupted just outside the study door. Marko spun around, raising his weapon as three masked figures in black tactical gear burst around the corner of the hallway, weapons raised.
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"Go!" Marko shouted, shoving the heavy steel door shut just as the first bullets slammed into the wood.
Inside the pitch-black safety of the reinforced room, Elena pulled Emma tightly against her chest, burying the little girl's face in her shoulder to muffle the terrifying sounds of war echoing from the other side of the steel wall.
