Chapter 8 - The Siege of the Estate
The night turned into a nightmare.
The invaders didn't come with a small hit squad; they came with a small army. They breached the north gate with heavy explosives and laid siege to the house. The sound of gunfire echoed across the lake, the flashes lighting up the darkness like strobe lights.
Mara sat in the study, clutching the phone as she monitored the security feeds. She saw Dante on the monitors, moving through the house with a tactical precision that was both terrifying and breathtaking.
But then, she saw the screen flicker. The feed from the east wing—where Ava was sleeping—went black.
Mara didn't wait for permission. She grabbed a small backup sidearm Dante had taught her to load just two days ago and ran toward the east wing.
She found the hallway guarded by a mercenary. He was distracted, firing toward the front stairs. Mara didn't think; she acted. She fired, the recoil of the heavy pistol bruising her shoulder, but her aim was true. The mercenary fell.
She burst into Ava’s room just as another man was reaching for the sleeping child.
"Stop!" Mara screamed.
The man spun, reaching for his weapon, but Mara was faster—or perhaps just more desperate. She fired again and again until the threat was gone.
Ava sat up, crying. Mara rushed to the bed, shielding the girl with her body.
"It's okay, Ava. It's okay. I'm here."
The door kicked open. Dante stood there, his face streaked with blood, his eyes wild with a fear that evaporated the second he saw them. He saw the bodies, the gun in Mara's trembling hand, and his daughter safe in her arms.
He didn't say a word. He walked over and gathered them both into his chest, his hold so tight it felt like he was trying to bind their lives together.
"You saved her," he whispered into Mara's hair. "Again."
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"I'm not going anywhere, Dante," Mara whispered back.
In that moment, the war outside didn't matter. The Syndicate, the betrayal, the empire—it all faded into the background. There was only the father, the child, and the waitress who had finally decided to step out of the shadows.
