flash
The woman across the aisle—the woman whose ghostly presence had haunted my sleepless nights for six painful years—sat trembling under the harsh overhead lighting. / Chapter 5 / 8

Chapter 5 - The Trap at the SafehouseThree days passed in a tense, fragile peace.

I spent every moment learning who my daughter was—her favorite color (yellow), her love for chocolate chip pancakes, her sharp wit that she clearly inherited from me. Elena watched us from a distance, her eyes filled with a painful mixture of relief and lingering grief.

We were slowly finding our way back to each other. But peace in my world is always an illusion.

On the fourth night, the estate's silent alarms tripped.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Red lights flashed silently along the corridor walls. I instantly sprinted to the master bedroom, pulling two custom handguns from the hidden safe.

"Elena! Take Lila into the safe room down the hall!" I barked, bursting into the room.

Elena was already pulling Lila out of bed, her face pale with terror. "Luca, what's happening?"

"They bypassed the outer perimeter," I said grimly. "Viktor and the team are engaging them in the courtyard. Go! Now!"

I escorted them down the concealed passageway behind the bookshelf, pushing the button to open the heavy steel blast door.

"Stay inside until I come get you," I told Elena, kissing her forehead fiercely before turning to Lila. "Remember what I told you, brave girl?"

"You're the hero," Lila whispered bravely, holding her pink backpack tight.

I smiled, stepped back, and hit the lock switch. The heavy steel door began to slide shut.

Suddenly, a blinding explosion rocked the hallway. Wall paneling shattered into splinters, tossing me across the marble floor. Smoke filled the air as heavy boots echoed through the corridor.

Through the haze, three masked mercenaries wearing heavy body armor lunged into the hallway. Before the blast door could fully seal, one of them jammed an iron wedge into the track, halting the door just six inches before closing!

"Luca!" Elena screamed from inside the vault.

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I scrambled up from the floor, firing three quick shots that brought down two of the attackers. But the third pulled a flashbang grenade, pulled the pin, and dropped it into the gap of the safe room door!

"NO!" I roared, throwing my body forward.

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