Chapter 5 - THE GILDED CAGE
“The Neighbors Aren't Complaining... Because They're Watching.”The sweep team didn't rush in. They were professional.
They began throwing flash-bangs through the upper windows, shattering the glass and filling the house with blinding light and deafening noise.
BANG! BANG!
Mariana screamed, covering the kids' ears in the hallway.
“Down into the hatch! Now!” Daniel ordered.
He ushered Mariana, Leo, and Inés down into the sub-basement. He knew the tactical team would check the hidden bunker first, but he had no other choice. He needed to funnel them into a tight space.
As they huddled in the dark concrete room, Daniel stood at the top of the ladder, holding the pry bar.
Heavy, synchronized boot steps echoed in the living room above.
“Clear the kitchen!” a voice shouted.
“Living room clear. Wait... the floorboards are up. The hatch is open.”
Daniel held his breath. He heard a soldier approach the edge of the opening. A flashlight beam swept down, illuminating Daniel’s face.
Before the soldier could raise his weapon, Daniel swung the heavy iron pry bar with all his might. It struck the soldier’s helmet with a sickening CLANG. The man groaned and tumbled down the hatch.
Daniel instantly wrestled the assault rifle from the unconscious man's hands. He had served in the military years ago, and the muscle memory returned in a terrifying rush.
He pointed the rifle up through the hatch.
“Don't shoot!” a voice screamed from upstairs.
But it wasn't a soldier. It was Patricia.
She was being dragged by her hair by another masked man.
“Mr. Vance said she failed her duties!” the man yelled down. “Throw the weapon up, Rivas, or we paint this living room with her blood!”
Patricia looked down into the hole, her face bruised, her eyes pleading. “Daniel... I’m sorry... please...”
Daniel looked at his sister-in-law. The woman who had betrayed his family, who had kept his son in a cage.
But before Daniel could make a choice, a loud gunshot echoed from upstairs.
Patricia gasped, her eyes going wide. She slumped forward, falling straight through the open hatch, landing heavily on the concrete floor below.
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Above the hatch, the silhouette of Alvaro Vance appeared. He was holding a smoking gold-plated pistol.
“A pity,” Vance said smoothly, looking down at Daniel. “Good help is so hard to find these days. Now, Mr. Rivas. Let's end this game.”
