Chapter 7 - The Trap Cleared
Seraphina didn't think. She acted.
She slipped away from the pillar, her soft-soled shoes making no sound against the Persian carpet, and sprinted down the private service stairs toward the wine cellar.
She reached the safe room door, entering the emergency code Elias had forced her to memorize the night before.
4-0-9-2.
The heavy metal door unlocked with a soft click. Inside, Stefan was monitoring six security screens while Leo drew pictures at a small table.
"Seraphina!" Stefan stood up, instantly reaching for his sidearm. "You shouldn't be down here."
"Marco’s men know who I am!" Seraphina gasped, catching her breath. "I just heard one of his bodyguards ordering a hit team in Marseille to target my mother!"
Stefan’s face turned stone-cold. He reached for his satellite phone, dialing Elias’s direct line, but the line buzzed with static.
"Jammer," Stefan growled, cursing under his breath. "They turned on a local signal blocker inside the house. Marco is planning a coup right now."
Before Stefan could reach the door, the heavy iron panel was kicked open from the outside.
Three of Marco’s guards stepped into the room, their suppressed pistols already raised.
"Step away from the boy, Stefan," the lead guard barked. "Don Marco sends his regards."
Stefan moved with incredible speed, pulling his weapon and firing two shots, but he was out-numbered. A bullet caught Stefan in the shoulder, knocking him back against the wall.
Leo screamed, ducking under the table.
The lead guard pointed his weapon directly at Seraphina’s forehead, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Valerie Laurent," the guard sneered. "Thirty years late, but you're finally going to join your father."
"Leave her alone!" Leo shouted, throwing a heavy wooden toy car at the guard’s leg.
The distraction lasted half a second, but it was all Seraphina needed.
She grabbed a heavy crystal wine decanter resting on a side table and smashed it directly across the guard's face. The glass shattered, spraying liquid and blood as the man stumbled backward with a roar of pain.
Stefan recovered, firing his weapon from the floor, taking down the remaining two attackers.
May you like
Seraphina didn't wait. She grabbed Leo in her arms, stepping over the fallen men, and pulled Stefan to his feet.
"We have to reach Elias!" she screamed above the sound of gunfire suddenly echoing from the main hall above.
