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The estate doctor, Dr. Harrison, rushed through the parting crowd, his face pale as he knelt beside Grace. The silence hanging over the Blackwood estate was so thick it was suffocating. Nobody dared to breathe. Nobody dared to move. / Chapter 5 / 6

Chapter 5 - INTO THE FLAMES

Ethan didn't hesitate. He tore off his designer shirt, wrapped it around his mouth and nose, and charged directly into the wall of fire.

The heat was blistering, peeling the skin on his arms, but he didn't care. His mind was entirely consumed by one thought: I have to save her.

He found Grace in the kitchen, trapped beneath a fallen, heavy wooden cabinet that had been knocked over during a struggle. The fire was creeping up the curtains behind her, threatening to engulf her completely. She was clutching her stomach, her face covered in soot, her eyes barely open.

"Ethan..." she breathed, her voice a mere whisper. "You came..."

"I'm here, baby. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Ethan choked out, tears of regret cutting tracks through the soot on his face. He jammed his shoulders beneath the heavy cabinet, using every ounce of his strength, his muscles screaming in agony as he hoisted the heavy wood off her legs.

He tossed the cabinet aside and pulled Grace into his arms. She groaned, pain racking her body.

"The baby... Ethan, it hurts..." she cried out, her body going rigid.

"Hold on to me," Ethan yelled over the roar of the fire. He lifted her up, but as he turned to escape through the kitchen door, a figure stepped out from the smoke, blocking their path.

It was Cynthia Blackwood. She was holding a suppressed pistol, her elegant face twisted into a mask of pure madness.

"You always were too smart for your own good, Ethan," Cynthia hissed, pointing the gun directly at Ethan’s chest. "You weren't supposed to find out about the DNA until after she was dead. Now, you've ruined everything."

"You killed Maria. You framed Grace. Why, Cynthia? I gave you everything you asked for after my father died!" Ethan spat, shielding Grace’s body entirely with his own.

"You gave me crumbs!" Cynthia shrieked. "Your father built this empire, and he left 90% of it to you! My son gets nothing but a monthly allowance! But if you die tonight in this tragic accident, trying to save your unfaithful wife... everything goes to my son."

Cynthia raised the gun, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Goodbye, Ethan."

BANG.

A gunshot echoed through the burning house. But it didn't come from Cynthia's gun.

Cynthia’s eyes widened in shock as a crimson stain bloomed across her chest. She dropped the pistol, collapsing to the floor. Behind her stood Marcus, his smoking tactical rifle raised, surrounded by a team of firefighters and guards.

"Get them out!" Marcus yelled.

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The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure terminal on my desk flashed a violent crimson. I hadn't slept in thirty-six hours, my eyes burning from staring at columns of ghost figures, duplicate invoices, and shell corporations linked to Dominic Rossi. But the red alert wasn’t from Rossi’s faction. It was an internal security flag originating from the estate’s main vault deep beneath the west wing.

The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure ter...

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scattering the light from the chandeliers. The muffled laughter died instantly, replaced by a suffocating, heavy silence that crept outward from the grand staircase.

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scatter...

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking out the clinical, terrifying silence of the kitchen. Evelyn Crane stood stiffly in front of my mahogany desk, her hands folded over her apron with the rigid precision of someone who had spent decades micromanaging every square inch of my estate. Behind her, Norah hovered near the doorway, clutching her clipboard like a shield.

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking...

Ethan didn't wait. He carried Grace out of the exploding structure, running into the cool rain. As soon as they hit the grass, Grace let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream.

"Ethan! The baby is coming! Now!"

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