Chapter 6 - The Midnight Siege
The panic room was buried deep beneath the estate’s wine cellar, a concrete bunker filled with monitors displaying the house’s security feeds. Dileia sat on the floor, holding a trembling Maya against her chest, her eyes glued to the screens.
The monitors showed a nightmare. A dozen armed men in tactical gear had breached the grand foyer, firing indiscriminately into the mahogany walls and antique glass. But Killian’s men were prepared. They moved with military precision, cutting down the intruders one by one from the shadows of the upper balconies.
Then, on the camera monitoring the east terrace, Dileia saw him.
Dr. Aldis Pike.
He wasn't wearing a suit anymore. He wore a stained, rumpled coat, his hair wild, his eyes wide with a manic, unhinged fury. He was carrying a small can of gasoline and a lighter, moving toward the electrical generator room that powered the estate’s security systems.
"He's going to cut the power," Dileia whispered, her blood running cold. If the power went out, the electronic locks on the panic room would default to manual override, leaving them vulnerable if any mercenaries breached the basement.
"Marcus," she spoke into the secure intercom. "Pike is on the east terrace. He's trying to sabotage the generator."
"I'm pinned down in the main hall, Miss Hartwell," Marcus’s voice came through the static, accompanied by the loud rattle of automatic fire. "Mr. Vance is engaged with their leader on the second floor. You must stay inside!"
Dileia looked down at Maya, who was crying silently into her shoulder. She looked at the silver handgun Killian had given her, lying on the table.
She couldn't just sit here and watch everything burn. Not again.
"Maya, listen to me," Dileia said, her voice dropping into that calm, clinical tone she used during emergencies. "I need you to count to one hundred for me. Stay right here under this desk. Don't move until I come back, okay?"
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"Auntie, don't go!" Maya begged.
"I have to go fix a patient, sweetie," Dileia said, kissing her forehead. She grabbed the gun, overrode the security lock from the inside console, and stepped out into the dark, smoky corridor of the basement.
