CHAPTER 7 — The Cabin Siege
Snow whipped across the frozen lake as Victor Lang's convoy surrounded the cabin.
Twenty-three armed men.
No police.
No sirens.
No witnesses.
Exactly the way Victor preferred.
Inside, Marcus switched off every light.
The cabin fell into darkness.
Only the fireplace cast faint orange shadows across the room.
Sophie clutched Lily's hand so tightly her fingers turned white.
"Mom..."
"Are we going to die?"
Lily forced herself to smile.
"No, sweetheart."
But Marcus saw the fear in her eyes.
She didn't believe her own words.
A booming voice echoed from outside through a megaphone.
"Marcus!"
"You have sixty seconds."
"Hand over Lily Parker and the flash drive."
"Or we burn the cabin to the ground."
Marcus calmly checked the magazine in his pistol.
One bullet chambered.
Seven more ready.
Then he looked at Sophie.
His voice softened.
"I lost my mother because I couldn't protect her."
"I'm not losing either of you."
Outside...
Victor smiled.
He already knew Marcus's weakness.
Compassion.
The very thing Marcus had spent his entire life trying to bury.
Thirty seconds later...
A flaming bottle smashed through the front window.
Glass exploded.
Fire spread across the wooden floor.
Another bottle crashed through the kitchen.
Then another.
Within moments, smoke filled the cabin.
Victor wasn't bluffing.
He intended to erase every witness forever.
But just as the flames began to spread...
Powerful headlights appeared across the frozen lake.
Dozens of black SUVs raced toward the cabin.
Marcus frowned.
He hadn't called anyone else.
Then the lead vehicle stopped.
A woman stepped out.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Calm.
Victor's smile disappeared.
May you like
He whispered only two words.
"...She's alive."
