CHAPTER 5 — The Traitor Inside the Mansion
Gunfire echoed through the estate.
Christian's security team held every entrance with military precision.
Leon Moretti's soldiers expected frightened bodyguards.
Instead, they found former special operators who had protected Christian for years.
One by one, the attackers fell back.
But something felt wrong.
Far too easy.
Christian studied the surveillance screens.
"They're distracting us."
Diane frowned.
"So where's the real attack?"
Before anyone answered—
Every monitor suddenly went black.
The emergency network had been hacked.
Someone inside the mansion had disabled the internal security system.
Diane's face turned pale.
"Impossible."
Christian didn't hesitate.
"It isn't."
He calmly turned toward the room.
"We have a traitor."
Silence filled the command center.
Every guard instinctively looked at the others.
Then a loud metallic click echoed behind them.
One of Christian's oldest captains pointed a pistol directly at his back.
Marco DeLuca.
A man who had served him faithfully for twelve years.
"I'm sorry, Boss," Marco said quietly.
"They have my family."
Christian didn't even flinch.
"I know."
Marco blinked.
"You... knew?"
"I knew someone was feeding information."
Christian slowly raised both hands.
"I simply hoped it wasn't you."
Marco's eyes filled with regret.
"I'm out of options."
Christian looked at him with genuine disappointment.
"No."
"You had one."
"What?"
"You could have trusted me."
Before Marco could react—
Diane slammed a steel baton into his wrist.
The gun fired harmlessly into the ceiling.
Three guards tackled him to the floor.
As they restrained him, Marco shouted desperately,
"It's too late!"
"They're already inside!"
At that exact second...
An explosion ripped through the library floor.
Smoke poured into the hallway.
From within the dust, dark figures emerged.
Leon Moretti hadn't attacked from outside.
He had entered through the century-old underground tunnels beneath the mansion.
Christian slowly reached for his pistol.
"Protect Amara."
May you like
"No matter what happens."
Then he disappeared into the smoke.
