Chapter 7 - THE SIEGEI didn't waste a second. I grabbed Victoria’s dropped pistol, checked the magazine—it was fully loaded—and sprinted back up the basement stairs. I slammed the basement door shut, threw the heavy deadbolt, and bolted into the kitchen.
Through the frosted glass of the front door, I saw the amber glow of headlights washing across the porch. Two unmarked black SUVs had pulled up onto the gravel driveway, blocking our car in.
Four figures stepped out of the vehicles, dressed in dark tactical gear, carrying heavy duffel bags.
They weren't police. They were corporate clean-up crew operatives—mercenaries hired by the firm to retrieve Victoria, secure the encryption keys, and erase every trace of the conspiracy before morning light.
"Dad?"
I spun around. Ethan was standing at the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes, wearing his dinosaur pajamas. Behind him, Lauren appeared, her face pale with terror.
"Get down!" I hissed, sprinting up the stairs and grabbing them both by the shoulders, pushing them back into the master bedroom. "Lock this door. Do not open it for anyone, no matter what my voice sounds like. Do you understand?"
"Daniel, what is happening?!" Lauren cried, her voice breaking. "Who is outside?"
"The people who hired Megan," I said, handing her Victoria’s pistol. "If anyone breaches this door, you shoot them. Do not hesitate."
Before Lauren could argue, the sound of heavy glass shattering echoed from the front living room.
They were breaking in.
I ran down the hallway, grabbing a heavy oak dining chair and positioning myself at the top of the stairs overlooking the foyer.
Heavy boots crunched on broken window glass downstairs.
"Sweep the perimeter," a gruff voice commanded from below. "Find Victoria. Secure the hardware. Leave no witnesses."
I took a deep breath, raised my father’s old hunting rifle—which I had grabbed from the upstairs gun rack—and aimed it directly at the foyer entrance below.
This was my home. These were my people.
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They thought they could walk into an Iowa Thanksgiving and slaughter a family like cattle for corporate profit.
They were about to learn how dangerous an ordinary man becomes when everything he loves is put on the line.
