Chapter 6 - The Breach
The grand foyer was a warzone of smoke, shattered glass, and flashing red emergency lights.
Arthur’s security guards engaged in a brutal firefight with O'Connell’s mercenaries near the main entrance, but the syndicate had cut the external communication lines, leaving the estate isolated in the storm.
Upper floor corridor, Jonah moved with astonishing speed and agility born from years of surviving on the harsh streets.
While Arthur and Drake drew fire near the central staircase, Jonah sprinted down the east wing toward Lily’s bedroom.
He burst into her room. Lily was sitting in her bed, terrified, clutching her blankets as the sounds of gunshots and screaming echoed through the floorboards.
"Jonah!" she cried out. "What's happening?!"
"O'Connell is here," Jonah said, ripping the sheets off her bed and grabbing her wheelchair. "We have to move. Now."
"I can't run, Jonah!" Lily sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "My legs—"
"You don't need to run," Jonah cut in firmly. He scooped her small body up into his arms. Though he was only ten, years of hard physical labor on the docks had made him surprisingly strong. "Hold onto my neck. Don't let go, no matter what happens."
Lily wrapped her arms tightly around Jonah’s neck, burying her face in his shoulder.
Jonah carried her out of the room, avoiding the main staircase where the heavy gunfire was concentrated. Instead, he headed toward the narrow service stairs that led down into the mansion's vast basement and boiler rooms.
As they reached the second-floor service landing, the heavy oak door in front of them swung open.
Dr. Evelyn Carter stood there, holding a small silver pistol in her hand. Her pristine hair was messily undone, her eyes wild with desperation.
"Give me the girl, Jonah," Dr. Carter hissed, pointing the gun at his chest. "Victor has the perimeter surrounded. You have nowhere to go."
Jonah stopped in his tracks, shielding Lily with his body. "You're a doctor. You took an oath."
"I took an oath to survive!" Dr. Carter spat bitterly. "O'Connell cleared my three-million-dollar gambling debt! All I had to do was keep the girl sick and feed him Vance's routines! Give her to me!"
Lily looked up from Jonah’s shoulder, staring at the woman who had spent two weeks pretending to help her. "You... you were poisoning me?"
"Shut up, you useless little brat!" Dr. Carter snapped, taking a step forward, raising the gun to Jonah’s head. "Hand her over, or I'll put a bullet through your heart right now!"
Jonah didn't flinch. He looked at the wet floor beneath Dr. Carter’s high heels.
During the explosion earlier, a copper pipe on the wall had burst, spraying slick, soapy cleaning detergent across the polished tile floor of the service landing.
"Lily," Jonah whispered in a barely audible breath. "Hold tight."
"What are you whispering?!" Dr. Carter yelled, stepping onto the wet tile.
Jonah didn't attack her. Instead, with lightning fast precision, he kicked his bare right foot forward, striking the base of a heavy metal linen cart sitting beside the wall.
The cart slammed into Dr. Carter’s legs.
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Slipping on the soapy water, Dr. Carter lost her balance completely, screaming as her feet flew out from under her. She crashed violently onto the stone stairs, her pistol slipping from her grip and tumbling down into the dark basement below.
Jonah didn't wait. Carrying Lily, he sprinted past the unconscious doctor, rushing down the stairs into the subterranean depths of the estate.
