Chapter 8 - The Ghost of ChapultepecThe celebration at the Villaseñor mansion that evening was intimate and warm. Diego had hired private chefs to prepare traditional Mexican dishes, and for the first time, the grand dining hall echoed with genuine laughter instead of polite, hollow whispers.
Marisol wore a simple emerald-green dress that brought out the warmth in her dark eyes. Valentina was fast asleep upstairs in her crib, clutching her golden button and her stuffed rabbit.
Standing on the back terrace, looking out over the sprawling, manicured gardens illuminated by soft fairy lights, Diego poured two glasses of aged tequila.
"To the rest of our lives," Diego said, clinking his glass against Marisol’s.
"To the end of secrets," Marisol smiled, taking a small sip.
Suddenly, the fairy lights flickered violently.
Then, they went completely black.
The entire mansion plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness. A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the estate, broken only by the distant rustle of wind through the pine trees of Chapultepec Park.
Diego instantly set his glass down, his military instincts kicking in. "Stay right here behind me, Marisol."
"Diego... what's happening? The power generator should have kicked in automatically."
"It was hacked," Diego rasped, pulling a small, heavy pistol from a concealed holster beneath his dinner jacket. "The master grid has been severed from the outside."
Before Marisol could scream, the heavy glass doors of the terrace shattered inward in an explosion of sparkling shards.
Three masked figures dressed in black tactical gear poured onto the terrace, moving with lethal, military precision.
Diego fired twice, dropping the first intruder instantly, but the second attacker slammed into him with brutal force, sending them both crashing over the wrought-iron patio table.
Marisol scrambled backward, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
May you like
"Valentina!" she gasped, realizing the nursery was upstairs.
She bolted through the broken glass doors into the dark hallway, racing toward the grand staircase as heavy footsteps echoed behind her in the dark.
