Chapter 15 - Midnight at the Howard Estate
That night, Zachary insisted that I stay at his secure estate with Paisley. The estate was a sprawling fortress tucked away in the hill country outside San Antonio, guarded by high stone walls and state-of-the-art security systems.
At 2:00 AM, the estate’s silent alarms tripped.
I woke up instantly to the sound of soft red emergency lights pulsing in the hallway. I bolted out of bed and ran straight to Paisley’s room. She was sitting up, rubbing her eyes, terrified.
"Dr. Sam? What's happening?" she whimpered.
"Shh, sweetie, it's okay," I whispered, lifting her into my arms and carrying her quickly toward the master bedroom's concealed panic room. "We're just playing a hide-and-seek game."
As I sealed Paisley inside the panic room, a heavy thud echoed from the lower living room, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
I crept down the hallway, grabbing a stainless-steel surgical scalp medical kit Zachary kept in his home study. Downstairs, through the dim security lighting, I saw three masked men in dark tactical gear searching through Zachary's private wall safe.
"Find the primary server drives!" a harsh voice ordered. It was Richard Howard’s personal head of security. "Richard wants those laundering logs destroyed before the grand jury convenes on Thursday!"
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Suddenly, one of the intruders turned and spotted me near the staircase landing. "There's the doctor! Grab her! She’s the leverage we need!"
He lunged up the stairs toward me.
