Chapter 3 - THE BLOOD ON THE MIRRORBy late afternoon, the storm that had been threatening Graybridge finally broke. Torrential rain lashed against the high arched windows of the estate, blurring the line between the gray sky and the violent sea below.
I had washed the grime of the warehouse off my skin in the luxurious marble bathroom of the guest suite, wrapped myself in a soft cashmere sweater provided by the staff, and returned immediately to Lilia’s bedside.
She was awake now, sitting up against a pile of plush pillows, eating warm chicken soup from a silver tray. The color had returned to her cheeks, though the faint yellowing bruises on her wrists—where Rusk’s men had bound her—were a stark, horrifying reminder of what she had endured.
"Maya?" Lilia called out, dropping her spoon.
"I'm right here, sweetie," I said, coming over to sit on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she murmured. She looked around the cavernous, pristine room, her eyes filled with a strange, solemn wisdom that no six-year-old should ever possess. "Is Daddy angry?"
"Angry? No, Lilia. He was terrified when you were gone. He searched the whole city for you."
Lilia lowered her gaze, her small fingers twisting the edge of the blanket. "Uncle Gabriel told me Daddy didn't want me anymore. He said Daddy was glad I was gone because I reminded him of Mommy."
My chest throbbed with a wave of pure, unadulterated hatred for Gabriel Rusk. To poison a child's mind like that was worse than physical torture.
"Uncle Gabriel lied to you," I said firmly, taking her small hand in mine. "Your father loves you more than anything in this world. When he found you in that warehouse, I saw his face. He looked like his whole world had come back to life."
Lilia looked up at me, her big dark eyes searching my face for any sign of deceit. "Truly?"
"Truly," I promised.
Before she could answer, a loud commotion erupted in the hallway outside. Shouted orders, the metallic clatter of firearms being readied, and the sudden, harsh ringing of an alarm echoed through the thick walls.
Lilia flinched, dropping her cup of juice. "Maya!"
"Stay here!" I ordered, stepping between her and the door.
The door burst open, and Victor rushed in, his face pale and slick with rain. He was holding an assault rifle across his chest. "Miss Bennett, take the child and move to the panic room behind the closet! Now!"
"What's happening?!" I demanded, grabbing Lilia and hauling her into my arms.
"Rusk," Victor spat, his eyes darting toward the window. "He didn't flee the city. The bastard used an old security override code to cut the power to the perimeter fence. He’s inside the compound!"
A sudden deafening BOOM shook the entire floor of the estate. The lights flickered frantically and then died completely, plunging the grand room into darkness, illuminated only by the flashes of lightning outside.
Lilia screamed, burying her face in my neck.
"Get her into the safe room!" Victor yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire breaking out on the lower level. "I'll hold the hallway!"
I didn't hesitate. Carrying Lilia, I bolted toward the walk-in closet at the back of the suite. Inside, concealed behind a rack of heavy coats, was a reinforced steel door with a digital keypad.
"Do you know the code?" I begged Lilia, my heart hammering like a trapped bird against my ribs. "Did your dad give you a code?"
"Zero... zero... four... eight!" Lilia sobbed through her tears.
I frantically slammed the numbers into the glowing pad. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The heavy hydraulic locks hissed, and the door swung open, revealing a small, windowless concrete bunker stocked with emergency supplies and monitoring screens.
I rushed inside, turning around to pull the heavy steel door shut behind us.
Through the narrowing gap of the doorway, I saw a tall, shadowed figure emerge from the darkness of the bedroom, stepping over the body of a fallen guard.
He wore a dripping wet raincoat, and his right hand glinted with a heavy silver ring.
"Lilia..." a smooth, terrifyingly familiar voice called out into the dark bedroom. "Come out, little bird. Uncle Gabriel brought you home."
My blood turned to ice. Gabriel Rusk was standing five feet away from us.
I slammed my shoulder against the steel door, trying to force the hydraulic lock to engage. But before the latch could click, a thick, mud-stained boot kicked the door open.
The force of the impact threw me backward onto the concrete floor. Lilia spilled from my arms, crying out as she hit the ground.
Gabriel Rusk stepped into the panic room.
He was a handsome man, with sharp features similar to Adrian's late wife, but his eyes were bloodshot, wild, and completely unhinged. He held a silenced pistol in his right hand.
"Well, well," Rusk sneered, glaring down at me with utter contempt. "The diner girl who ruined my grand finale."
"Get away from her," I rasped, scrambling to my feet and placing myself between his gun and Lilia.
May you like
"You should have stayed in your gutter, Maya," Rusk mocked, raising the barrel of the pistol toward my forehead. "Now you’re just another body in the Moretti ledger."
He squeezed the trigger.
