Chapter 6
The battle for the Vale estate plunged the luxurious mansion into a nightmare of smoke and shattered marble. Damon sprinted down the second-floor corridor, the sounds of heavy combat echoing from the floor below. The Arden hit squad had used the blizzard to mask their approach, blowing the glass walls of the conservatory to gain entry.
Dante reached the guest suite where Martha was resting. He kicked the door open, sweeping the room with his pistol. Martha was sitting up in bed, clutching her shawl, her eyes wide with terror as the gunfire rattled the windows.
"Damon!" she gasped.
"We have to move, Martha. Now," Damon said, rushing to her side. He helped the elderly woman to her feet, wrapping a thick wool blanket around her shoulders.
"The girl? Is Elise safe with the baby?" Martha asked, leaning heavily on his arm as they moved toward the door.
"She’s heading to the vault. We’re going to meet them," Damon assured her, his eyes scanning the dark hallway.
They moved slowly, Martha’s frail legs struggling to keep up with Damon’s urgent pace. They reached the top of the grand staircase just as a massive explosion rocked the foyer below. The blast blew the heavy front doors off their hinges, sending a shockwave that shattered the remaining chandeliers.
"Hold onto me," Damon ordered, pulling Martha behind a thick marble pillar.
Down in the foyer, through the swirling dust and smoke, Damon saw them. A dozen heavily armed Arden mercenaries pouring into his home. And walking casually behind them, wearing a sleek black tactical coat over her champagne satin gown, was Celeste Arden. Her ruby earrings glinted maliciously in the dim emergency lighting.
"Tear this place apart!" Celeste shrieked, her voice echoing with unhinged, venomous rage. "Find the old hag and the maid! I want them dead before my father gets here!"
Damon’s vision tinted red with sheer, unrestrained fury. He raised his heavy pistol, resting his forearms against the marble pillar to steady his aim. He lined up the iron sights directly with the center of Celeste's chest.
Before he could pull the trigger, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the opposite balcony. Silas and his men had arrived, raining bullets down on the Arden mercenaries. The foyer instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse. Celeste screamed as the men around her dropped, and she scrambled behind an overturned carved walnut table for cover.
"Move!" Damon yelled over the deafening noise. He practically carried Martha down the adjacent servants' corridor, away from the crossfire, leading her toward the kitchen and the descent into the wine cellar.
Meanwhile, deep underground, Elise reached the wine cellar. The air was cold and damp, smelling of aged oak and earth. Lucy was wide awake now, clinging to Elise's neck and whimpering at the muffled sounds of explosions shaking the ceiling.
"It's okay, sweetheart, we're playing hide and seek," Elise whispered rapidly, though her voice shook with pure terror.
She navigated through the endless rows of vintage wine racks until she reached the back wall. Just as Damon had said, there was a heavy steel panic door hidden behind a false shelf. She punched in Damon’s birth year on the keypad. The heavy locks disengaged with a loud clank, and the thick steel door swung open.
Elise rushed inside, setting Lucy down on a small cot in the corner. She turned back to the door, waiting desperately for Damon and Martha to appear in the dark cellar.
Instead, a different sound echoed down the stone staircase. The distinct, terrifying click of high heels against the concrete floor.
"Well, well, well," a cruel voice echoed through the damp cellar.
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Elise froze. She peered around the edge of the steel door. Emerging from the shadows at the bottom of the stairs, holding a silver, suppressed handgun, was Celeste Arden. The heiress smiled, a twisted, victorious expression painting her aristocratic face.
"Did you really think a rat could hide from me in the basement?" Celeste sneered, raising her weapon.
