Chapter 7
The hidden servants' stairwell was a claustrophobic, concrete descent into the bowels of the mansion. Elise hurried down the steep steps, her soft cashmere sweater brushing against the cold, dusty walls. Noah was sobbing quietly against her shoulder, his little hands gripping the fabric of her clothing like a lifeline.
"We're almost there, sweetie," Elise whispered rapidly, though her own voice shook.
Marcus led the way, his assault rifle raised, his eyes scanning the darkness. They reached the bottom landing, stepping out into a wide, dimly lit corridor that ran beneath the estate, connecting the wine cellar to the secure underground bunker.
The heavy thud of automatic gunfire echoed from the floors above them, the sound vibrating through the concrete ceiling. Elise’s new hearing aid picked up the terrifying, chaotic symphony of violence—men shouting in agony, glass shattering, and the relentless, rhythmic cracking of rifles.
"The bunker is at the end of the hall," Marcus said, pointing toward a massive steel vault door fifty yards away. "The code is 0412. Get inside and lock the deadbolts. I'm going to hold this corridor."
"You're not coming in?" Elise asked, panic flaring in her expressive eyes.
"I have to choke the chokepoint," Marcus replied grimly, taking a position behind a stack of wooden wine crates. "If they get past me, the steel door will hold them off until the boss gets back. Go!"
Elise didn't hesitate. She sprinted down the corridor, the extra weight of the toddler burning her muscles. She reached the biometric keypad next to the vault door. Her hands were shaking violently as she punched in the numbers. 0-4-1-2.
The keypad flashed green. The heavy steel tumblers disengaged with a loud, mechanical clank, and the door hissed open an inch.
Before she could pull it open fully, a deafening explosion rocked the corridor behind her.
Elise spun around. The wooden doors leading to the wine cellar had been blown off their hinges. Thick, grey smoke poured into the subterranean hallway. Through the haze, a figure emerged. It wasn't a Voss mercenary in tactical gear.
It was Daphne.
The disgraced fiancée wore a sleek black tactical coat over dark trousers, her blonde hair pulled back tightly. In her hand, she held a suppressed 9mm pistol. Two heavily armed mercenaries stepped out from the smoke behind her, their weapons trained on Marcus.
"Kill the guard," Daphne ordered coldly.
The mercenaries opened fire. Marcus returned fire, his assault rifle roaring in the confined space, but he was pinned down behind the splintering wine crates.
Daphne ignored the firefight. She locked eyes with Elise at the end of the hall. A twisted, sadistic smile painted her face as she raised her pistol, aiming directly at the mother and child.
"I told you I was going to throw you out in the cold, you pathetic little maid," Daphne shouted over the gunfire.
Elise didn't freeze. Pure, primal maternal instinct hijacked her nervous system. She shoved the heavy steel vault door open with her shoulder, throwing herself and Noah into the bunker just as a bullet sparked against the steel frame where her head had been a fraction of a second before.
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She scrambled across the concrete floor, kicking the vault door shut with her heel. She hit the emergency lockdown button on the internal panel. The massive steel bolts slammed into the frame, sealing them in absolute, terrifying silence.
Elise backed away from the door, clutching Noah tightly, her chest heaving. They were locked in, but Daphne was right outside, and Marcus was fighting a losing battle. It was only a matter of time before they brought explosives to the steel door.
