Chapter 8 - The Trap SpringsThe distraction was instantaneous.
A massive plume of thick, black smoke erupted from the secondary service garage as one of Dominic’s decoy vehicles remotely detonated, blinding the sniper in the tree line with a wall of carbon and fire.
In that split second of confusion, Dominic moved.
He didn't aim for the gunman holding Clara’s mother. He aimed three inches to the left—straight through the wooden column supporting the portico roof.
Bang! Bang!
The reinforced timber splintered violently. The heavy stone facade above the entrance, weakened by explosive charges planted by Dominic’s own security team hours prior, groaned and began to collapse.
"Run!" Dominic roared, lunging forward and grabbing Clara by the arm just as tons of white stone and marble crashed down onto the steps.
The gunman screamed as the falling debris crushed him beneath the rubble, freeing Clara’s mother, who stumbled forward into the dust. Dominic caught the old woman by the shoulders, shoving her safely behind a marble pillar alongside Clara.
"Secure the perimeter!" Dominic shouted into his collar radio, his voice cutting through the ringing in their ears. "Flush out the rest of the rats!"
Within seconds, the estate’s private tactical response team swarmed the grounds, subduing the remaining infiltrators with ruthless efficiency. The silence of the Lake Forest estate was replaced by the shouts of guards and the clatter of handcuffs.
Clara knelt beside her mother on the shattered stone, sobbing as she pulled the older woman into a tight embrace. "Mom, Mom, are you okay? What happened?"
"They... they came to the hospital," her mother wept, clinging to Clara’s jacket. "They said... they said it was because of you."
Clara slowly lifted her head, looking through the smoke and dust toward Dominic.
May you like
The billionaire stood amidst the wreckage, his suit covered in white plaster dust, a shallow cut bleeding slightly over his left eyebrow. He wasn't looking at the captured mercenaries. He was looking straight at her.
"Get them inside the panic room in the north wing," Dominic ordered Mrs. Hargrove, who appeared from the shattered doorway looking as composed as ever, despite the chaos. "And bring the boy."
