Chapter 5
The hours dragged by with agonizing slowness. Inside the master guest suite, Lila did her best to maintain a facade of calm for Henry’s sake. The toddler sat on the thick Persian rug, completely absorbed in crashing a red toy truck into a barricade of wooden blocks. He was entirely oblivious to the violence brewing outside the thick stone walls.
Lila paced the length of the room, checking the reinforced windows every few minutes. The winter sky had darkened into a bruised, ominous gray. The snow began to fall heavier, obscuring the distant tree line and the wrought-iron perimeter gates.
"Mommy, look!" Henry called out, holding up a mangled block structure. "I broke the castle!"
Lila forced a warm smile, walking over to kneel beside him. "You certainly did, sweetie. It was a very big crash."
Henry giggled, wrapping his small arms around her neck. "I love you, Mommy."
The words struck Lila like a physical blow. The absolute purity of his affection was the catalyst that had torn the Ashford empire apart, but looking at his innocent face, she wouldn't change a single second of it. She hugged him tightly, breathing in the scent of his baby shampoo.
Suddenly, the floorboards beneath them vibrated violently. A deafening explosion rocked the eastern wing of the mansion. The impact was so severe it shattered the crystal lamps on the bedside tables, raining glass across the carpet.
The blaring wail of the estate's emergency security alarms immediately shattered the quiet afternoon.
"What was that?" Henry cried out, clapping his hands over his ears.
"It's just thunder, baby, just thunder!" Lila shouted over the siren, scooping him into her arms and backing away from the windows.
The heavy oak door of the suite burst open. A guard in dark tactical gear rushed in, his assault rifle raised, his face smeared with sweat and plaster dust.
"Miss Hart, we have to move!" the guard barked. "The Rowe family hit the southern gate with C4. They breached the perimeter. The boss’s orders are to get you to the underground bunker immediately!"
Lila didn't hesitate. She grabbed Henry’s plush fox, stuffed it into his hands, and followed the guard out into the grand hallway.
The luxurious mansion was transforming into a chaotic war zone. Guards were sprinting past them, shouting orders and taking up defensive positions behind marble pillars. The acrid smell of smoke and burning wood began to filter through the ventilation system.
"Keep your head down!" the guard ordered, leading her toward the hidden servants' staircase that dropped directly into the lower levels of the estate.
As they reached the heavy wooden door of the stairwell, a second explosion ripped through the main foyer below them. A hail of bullets shattered the plaster walls of the corridor.
"They breached the front doors!" a voice yelled over the tactical radio on the guard's vest.
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"Move, Lila! Down the stairs, now!" the guard yelled, pushing her into the dark, narrow stairwell just as a mercenary rounded the corner at the end of the hall.
Lila plunged into the darkness, holding Henry so tightly her arms ached. She could hear the deafening roar of gunfire erupting in the hallway above as her guard engaged the enemy. The war had breached the walls, and there was nowhere left to run but down.
