Chapter 5 - Shadows on the Glass
Inside the master bedroom, Rosa had managed to get Lily to sleep, while the twin babies rested peacefully in their makeshift cribs, finally warm and fed. Nathan stood by the doorway, watching his niece’s chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. The bruises on her arms from where she had dragged the blanket through the snow were beginning to turn a sickly purple.
The anger boiling inside Nathan’s veins turned ice cold. For seven years, he had lived behind glass, believing he was untouchable, believing his detachment made him strong. He realized now that true strength wasn't about shutting people out; it was about protecting the ones who couldn't protect themselves.
A sudden, sharp vibration buzzed in his pocket. It was his encrypted satellite phone.
Nathan flipped it open. A text message flashed on the screen from an unknown burner number:
“Open the front gate, Nathan. Let a grieving father see his children. Or I'll turn your glass palace into a tomb.”
Nathan glanced at the wall-mounted security monitors. Down at the base of the winding driveway, two black SUVs had smashed through the estate’s iron security gates, their tires spinning furiously in the thick snow as they climbed toward the house.
"Sheriff," Nathan called out, striding back into the study. "They're here."
Miller unclipped his holster, his face grim. "Nathan, listen to me. If we engage them without state backup, this becomes a bloodbath. Kane has political connections in the county. Even if we survive, his lawyers will spin this to make you look like the unhinged uncle."
"I don't give a damn about his lawyers," Nathan replied, his voice absolute. "He killed my sister. He hunted a five-year-old child through a blizzard. There are no courts left for a monster like that."
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Before Miller could reply, a deafening crash echoed from the front of the house. The motion-activated security floodlights outside suddenly flickered and died, plunged into darkness as the main power lines to the estate were severed.
The house plunged into an eerie, amber-lit twilight powered by emergency backup generators.
