Chapter 6 - The Breach
Saturday evening brought a brutal Midwestern thunderstorm that knocked out the main power lines along the north shore of the lake.
The estate’s emergency generators kicked in immediately with a low, steady hum, flooding the hallways with pale yellow backup light.
Maddie sat in the ground-floor living room, nursing a cup of warm chamomile tea while Dr. Evans checked her blood pressure.
“118 over 76,” Dr. Evans announced with a reassuring nod. “Perfect. You’re doing remarkably well, Madeline. The baby is fully descended now. We’re looking at another three weeks, perhaps four.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Maddie said, smiling faintly.
Suddenly, a dull, muffled explosion echoed from the south side of the property—far near the main security gates!
The glass windows rattled in their frames.
Dr. Evans gasped, dropping her blood pressure cuff.
Before Maddie could stand up, Leo rushed into the living room, a high-caliber rifle held ready in his arms, his face flushed with adrenaline.
“Mrs. Valente! We have a perimeter breach on Sector 2!” Leo shouted above the sudden wail of the estate’s interior sirens. “A truck blew through the south iron gate! Get to the bunker now!”
Maddie stood up, her hand instantly going to her heavy belly. “Where is Dominic?”
“He’s stuck on the interstate near Kenosha—traffic is blocked by the storm!” Leo yelled, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her toward the hidden service stairs behind the kitchen. “Move! Now!”
Gunfire erupted outside—sharp, rapid pops of automatic rifles echoing through the trees, answered by the heavier sound of the estate guards’ tactical weapons.
Maddie moved as fast as her thirty-two-week frame would allow, holding her lower back with one hand, her heart hammering violently in her throat.
They reached the basement level, stepping into a reinforced concrete hallway lit by red emergency strip lighting.
Leo pulled open a heavy vault door made of six-inch steel, pointing inside. “Doctor, get in first! Mrs. Valente, step inside!”
Before Maddie could clear the threshold, the heavy wooden doors at the top of the concrete stairs were blown inward with a deafening crash!
Smoke and dust filled the stairwell.
Three men in dark tactical gear surged down the stairs, their weapons raised.
Leo turned instantly, firing two shots before a burst of automatic fire struck his chest, sending him crashing backward against the concrete wall!
Maddie screamed, backing into the bunker as Dr. Evans pulled her deeper inside.
A man stepped through the dust—tall, thin, with a jagged scar across his jaw and dark, crazed eyes.
Mateo DeLuca.
May you like
He looked at Maddie, his lips twisting into a horrifying, triumphant grin as his eyes dropped to her massive bump.
“Well, well,” Mateo sneered, raising his pistol toward her head. “Dominic’s hidden little prize. Let’s see how much your bastard is worth to the Valente family now.”
