CHAPTER 4 — The Attempt
CHAPTER 4 — The Attempt
"Move!"
Claire's scream ripped through the park.
Instinct took over.
I threw myself toward the bench, grabbing the twin carriers just as the black sedan tore across the grass.
The world exploded into chaos.
Parents snatched up their children.
People scattered in every direction.
The fountain plaza emptied within seconds.
I wrapped my body over the babies.
The sedan missed us by less than three feet.
Its tires ripped through the flowerbeds before slamming into a stone trash bin with a deafening crash.
Concrete shattered.
Metal twisted.
Smoke poured from beneath the hood.
For one heartbeat...
Everything went silent.
Then Claire was beside me.
"Ethan!"
Her hands frantically searched the blankets.
"The babies!"
"They're okay."
Both infants had started crying, terrified but unharmed.
I had never heard a more beautiful sound.
Behind us, my mother collapsed onto a nearby bench, shaking uncontrollably.
"Oh, thank God..."
Victor, however, wasn't looking at the wrecked car.
He was looking beyond it.
Toward the park entrance.
His face hardened.
"There are two."
"What?" I asked.
"They never travel alone."
Before I could respond, the rear door of the crashed sedan burst open.
A man wearing a black hoodie stumbled out.
Blood ran down the side of his forehead, but he barely seemed to notice.
Instead, he reached inside his jacket.
My heart stopped.
A handgun.
"DOWN!" Victor shouted.
The first shot cracked through the park.
Glass shattered behind us.
People screamed.
I pulled Claire and the babies behind the thick stone base of the fountain.
Another shot.
Then another.
Water sprayed into the air as bullets struck the marble.
My pulse pounded so violently I could barely think.
"Call the police!" someone yelled.
"They're already coming," Victor said, surprisingly calm.
Claire looked at him with disbelief.
"How do you know?"
"Because I called them five minutes ago."
I stared at him.
"You expected this?"
"I was hoping I was wrong."
He pulled a small earpiece from his pocket and slipped it into his ear.
"You came prepared."
"I always do."
Suddenly, another black SUV roared into the parking lot.
My stomach dropped.
More attackers?
The doors flew open.
Four men in dark suits jumped out.
Not hoodies.
Not masks.
Professional.
Each moved with military precision.
One shouted toward Victor.
"Sir!"
Victor immediately pointed toward the gunman.
"Alive if possible."
The suited men spread out like they had rehearsed it a hundred times.
Within seconds, two of them flanked the shooter while another circled behind.
The confrontation lasted less than fifteen seconds.
A sharp struggle.
A single punch.
The handgun clattered across the pavement.
The hooded man was pinned face-down before he could fire another shot.
I stared.
"Who are these people?"
Victor answered without taking his eyes off the scene.
"My security team."
Claire laughed bitterly.
"You always bring an army."
"I've had enemies longer than you've been alive."
The words barely registered.
Because another sound froze my blood.
A baby crying.
Not ours.
Somewhere nearby.
I looked around frantically.
Near the crashed sedan...
A little girl—no older than four—stood alone, sobbing beside a fallen bicycle.
She had frozen in fear.
The second attacker.
I spotted him at the same moment Victor did.
He emerged from behind a row of oak trees.
Not toward us.
Toward the little girl.
His hand reached inside his coat.
Without thinking, I ran.
"Ethan!" Claire screamed behind me.
I ignored her.
The little girl couldn't move.
She was paralyzed.
I sprinted across the grass just as the attacker grabbed her by the arm.
"Help!"
She cried desperately.
I slammed into him with everything I had.
We both crashed to the ground.
The impact knocked the knife from his hand.
Knife?
He hadn't been carrying a gun.
He had been trying to take a hostage.
The man recovered quickly.
He drove his fist into my ribs.
Pain exploded through my side.
I answered with a punch of my own.
Years in the gym finally meant something.
The man staggered backward.
Before he could regain his balance, one of Victor's guards tackled him from behind.
The fight was over.
Police sirens echoed through the streets.
Within minutes, officers flooded the park.
Paramedics followed.
The frightened little girl was reunited with her parents.
Witnesses gave statements.
Yellow tape surrounded the entire entrance.
An officer approached me.
"Mr. Carter?"
"Yes."
"We're going to need everyone involved to come downtown."
Before I could answer, another detective hurried over holding a plastic evidence bag.
"Detective..."
"You need to see this."
Inside the bag...
Was a folded photograph recovered from the first attacker's pocket.
The detective unfolded it carefully.
Every color drained from my face.
It wasn't a random target.
It wasn't mistaken identity.
The photograph showed only three people.
Me.
Claire.
The twins.
Across the bottom, someone had written four words in thick black marker.
NO SURVIVORS. NO WITNESSES.
A cold silence settled over everyone.
Even the detective looked shaken.
Victor stared at the photograph for several long seconds.
Then he quietly said something that made every hair on my neck stand up.
"I was wrong."
I looked at him.
"About what?"
He met my eyes.
"They're not trying to kidnap the twins anymore."
My throat tightened.
"What do you mean?"
Victor's expression was grim.
"They've changed the contract."
He paused.
May you like
"They've decided it's cheaper..."
"...to eliminate the entire Carter bloodline."
