CHAPTER 6 — The Bullet Meant for Emma
The explosion shook the mansion like an earthquake.
Glass rained from every window.
Lily screamed.
Noah instinctively grabbed his sister's hand.
Then came the first gunshot.
BANG!
The bullet tore through the front door, missing Emma by inches before shattering a family portrait behind her.
Daniel didn't hesitate.
For the first time in years, he threw himself in front of Emma.
"GET DOWN!"
He tackled her to the floor just as two more shots ripped through the living room.
The lights flickered.
Smoke filled the air.
Outside, masked men dressed in black tactical gear surrounded the mansion.
This wasn't a robbery.
It was an execution.
Richard Hayes pulled a handgun from inside his jacket.
"They found us."
Emma looked at him in disbelief.
"You knew this could happen?"
Richard nodded grimly.
"The people behind this have erased witnesses for years."
"They won't leave anyone alive tonight."
Margaret Whitmore was shaking uncontrollably.
"No..."
"They promised they'd never come after the children."
Richard looked at her with disgust.
"You actually believed criminals keep promises?"
Another explosion blasted open the garage.
Flames lit up the night sky.
One of the attackers shouted through a loudspeaker.
"Bring us the twins..."
"...and everyone else walks away."
Emma's blood turned to ice.
"They don't want money."
"They want Lily and Noah."
Daniel stared at Margaret.
"You knew who they were all along."
Margaret slowly nodded.
"They're called The Circle."
"For decades they've controlled politicians, judges, billionaires... anyone with enough power to buy silence."
Emma whispered,
"What do they want with my children?"
Margaret's answer barely left her lips.
"They aren't after the children..."
"They're after what your father left them."
Daniel frowned.
"What inheritance?"
Margaret looked directly at Emma.
"The twins aren't just heirs to the Whitmore fortune."
"They're the legal owners of something worth far more than billions."
Richard suddenly shouted,
"Everyone move! Upstairs! Now!"
Before anyone could react...
A black drone crashed through the broken window.
It landed in the middle of the living room.
Its red light began flashing.
Richard's face turned white.
"It's a bomb!"
Everyone ran.
Three...
Two...
One...
The explosion ripped through the mansion.
When the smoke finally cleared...
Emma slowly opened her eyes beneath the collapsed staircase.
"D-Daniel...?"
No answer.
"Richard?"
Silence.
She turned toward where Lily and Noah had been standing.
The children were gone.
Only a single white envelope remained on the floor.
Across the front, written in dark red ink, were six chilling words:
May you like
"THEY BELONG TO US NOW."
To Be Continued...
