CHAPTER 6 — THE NIGHT THEY CAME FOR THE CHILDREN
CHAPTER 6 — THE NIGHT THEY CAME FOR THE CHILDREN
The first warning came at 2:17 a.m.
Dominic's encrypted phone vibrated once.
Only once.
That signal meant one thing.
Perimeter breach.
He was out of bed before the second vibration.
Marcus's voice came through his earpiece.
"Boss, motion sensors on the east wall."
"How many?"
"At least six."
Dominic walked to the window overlooking the estate.
Rain swept across the lawn.
Nothing moved.
Too quiet.
"They're professionals," Marcus muttered. "Thermal camouflage."
Dominic didn't hesitate.
"Lock the mansion."
Steel security shutters slammed over every ground-floor entrance.
The lights throughout the estate went dark.
For a moment, everything disappeared into blackness.
Then infrared cameras activated.
Marcus watched the monitors.
"There!"
Six figures.
No...
Eight.
Moving silently through the gardens.
Not ordinary killers.
Former military.
Perfect formation.
Perfect timing.
"They're heading toward the children's wing."
Dominic's face hardened.
"Not tonight."
Upstairs, Emma was already awake.
Years of working night shifts as a pediatric nurse had trained her to wake at the smallest unusual sound.
She stepped into the hallway.
Silence.
Then...
A faint metallic click.
A window opening.
Emma's blood ran cold.
She hurried into Lily's room.
The seven-year-old stirred.
"Emma?"
"It's okay."
Emma scooped Ethan from his bed without waking him.
"We're playing a quiet game."
Lily immediately understood from the fear in Emma's eyes.
"They're here?"
Emma nodded once.
"Stay behind me."
She led the children through a hidden passage connecting the bedrooms to the old wine cellar.
The passage had been built decades earlier as an emergency escape.
Almost no one knew it existed.
Almost.
Outside, one of the attackers smiled beneath his night-vision mask.
"They're moving."
Another operative touched his earpiece.
"Target heading toward the basement."
A third voice answered.
"Just like the blueprint predicted."
Marcus heard the transmission.
His stomach dropped.
"They know the escape tunnel."
Dominic froze.
Impossible.
Only three people knew about that passage.
Him.
Marcus.
His late father.
Unless...
Someone had copied the estate plans.
Or someone inside had told them.
The basement door exploded inward.
Emma shoved Lily behind a stone pillar.
Ethan finally woke, frightened.
"Emma..."
"It's okay."
"No matter what happens..."
She knelt before both children.
"...don't come out until your father finds you."
Heavy footsteps echoed through the tunnel.
Flashlights swept across ancient stone walls.
Emma picked up an old iron poker from the fireplace.
It wasn't much.
But it was enough.
The first attacker rounded the corner.
Emma swung.
The iron bar cracked against his wrist.
His pistol clattered across the floor.
She grabbed it.
She had never fired a gun in her life.
But she didn't hesitate.
One shot.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Dust filled the tunnel.
The attackers ducked instinctively.
Emma used the moment to slam the heavy cellar gate shut.
"Go!" she screamed toward the children.
Lily grabbed Ethan's hand.
They ran deeper into the darkness.
Dominic reached the basement seconds later.
Two unconscious attackers lay near the entrance.
Emma stood bleeding from a cut across her forehead, still aiming the stolen pistol with shaking hands.
She nearly fired before recognizing him.
"They have the children!"
"No."
Emma pointed.
"They're still inside."
Dominic sprinted into the tunnel.
"Lily!"
"Daddy!"
The tiny voice echoed back.
Relief crashed over him.
He found both children huddled together behind old wine barrels.
Lily burst into tears the moment she saw him.
"You came."
Dominic dropped to his knees, wrapping both children tightly in his arms.
"I'll always come."
For the first time...
He meant it.
Outside, the surviving attackers retreated.
Marcus captured one alive.
The man refused to speak.
Until Dominic entered the interrogation room.
He placed Sophia's engagement ring on the table.
"I've buried men for less."
The prisoner laughed.
"You still don't understand."
Dominic remained silent.
The man leaned forward.
"This wasn't about kidnapping."
"What was it about?"
The assassin smiled.
"We were testing your defenses."
His grin widened.
"The real attack hasn't even started."
Before anyone could stop him...
He bit down on a hidden cyanide capsule.
Within seconds...
He was dead.
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Only one message remained inside his jacket.
THE PAST ALWAYS RETURNS.
