Chapter 3 - Blood on the Glass
“Down!” Julian roared, launching across the room and tackling Clara and Dr. Lin onto the hardwood floor just as three successive rounds punched through the reinforced outer layer. Glass rained down like diamond dust, the heavy acoustic impact reverberating off the concrete walls.
Marcus drew his sidearm, moving along the blind spot of the balcony pillar while speaking rapidly into his radio headset. “Perimeter breach on South Tower! Counter-snipers engage immediately! We have hostile engagement on Level 40!”
Julian shielded both children under his torso. Clara did not scream; she simply trembled violently, covering Lily’s ears with her tiny hands in a way that proved this was not her first time under gunfire. That realization sliced deeper into Julian’s soul than any bullet could. These children had lived in a war zone created by the very people he had sat with at dinner tables.
Outside, a distant muffled blast echoed across the financial district, followed by the screech of tires below. Marcus peered through his tactical scope, then lowered his weapon. “Target neutralized by our rooftop spotters. But it was a professional hit squad, Julian. Military-grade hollow points. Victoria’s father isn’t just trying to cover up a scandal. He’s liquidating witnesses.”
Julian stood up, lifting Clara and Lily. His tailored dress shirt was stained with soot, rain, and drops of Clara’s blood from a glass scratch on her cheek. The polite businessman who spent his days signing boardroom acquisitions was gone, burned away by the fury of a father whose family had been hunted like prey.
“Pack everything,” Julian commanded, his voice dead and terrifyingly calm. “We don’t go to the safehouse in the hills. We go underground. To the Foundry.”
May you like
Marcus paused, staring at him. “Julian, the Foundry hasn’t been opened since your father’s days. If you go there, you’re stepping completely outside the law.”
Julian wiped a tear from Clara’s dirty cheek, his thumb catching the silver locket hanging against her chest. “The law didn’t protect my daughters. And when I find Senator Sterling, the law won't be able to protect him either.”
