Chapter 1 - The Voice from the Shadows
The icy stream of water hissed as it slammed against the stone pavers, soaking Elena to the bone. Every muscle in her body trembled from the bitter cold. She curled tightly around her swollen belly, desperate to shield the life kicking weakly within her. Standing above her, Diego held the garden hose nozzle like a weapon, his handsome features contorted in cruel disdain. Beside him, his mother Victoria stood wrapped in her cashmere shawl, watching with cold indifference.
"You should have learned your place months ago, Elena," Diego sneered, letting the freezing jet graze her bare shoulders. "You think you're special just because you carry an heir? In this family, obedience is everything."
Elena choked on the cold mist, gasping for breath. "Diego... please... the baby... let me inside..."
Before Diego could spit another insult, a sharp electronic chime sliced through the midnight air. The red indicator light on the high-mounted courtyard security camera blinked violently, and the motorized lens locked directly onto Diego's face.
Then, an amplified voice—deep, resonant, and overflowing with lethal authority—boomed from the surveillance intercom system.
"You have sixty seconds to turn off that water and bring my daughter inside."
Diego froze, the nozzle drooping in his grip. The water splashed uselessly over his polished leather shoes. Victoria’s smug expression shattered into pure bewilderment as she clutched her pearls.
"Who... who is hacking our system?!" Victoria shrieked, looking wildly around the perimeter.
Elena lifted her soaking face, water dripping from her eyelashes. The voice had not sounded familiar, yet an instinctive warmth sparked deep inside her chest.
"Fifty seconds," the voice reverberated again, cracking the silence like thunder. "Or I level everything bearing the Vance name before sunrise."
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Diego looked down at Elena, eyes widening with sudden paranoia. "Elena... who the hell was that?"
Before she could speak, heavy helicopter blades began to beat the night sky, their deafening roar tearing toward the estate.
