Chapter 4 - The Manor Under Siege
The impact sprayed shards of wet granite into the air, slicing Julian’s cheek. Marcus reacted instantly, tackling Julian to the muddy ground as another silenced round tore through the rain, striking the heavy wooden railing above them.
""Sniper in the tree line! Get down!"" Marcus bellowed into his radio, pulling his sidearm. ""All units, red alert! Secure the perimeter and lock down the main house immediately!""
Eleanor cried out in pain as Julian pulled her behind the protective curve of the bridge's stone abutment. Julian pressed his fingers against her neck; her pulse was erratic and dangerously weak.
""Julian, listen to me,"" Eleanor wheezed, blood flecking the corner of her mouth. ""The yacht accident wasn't a failure of the engine. It was sabotage. Evelyn... Evelyn managed to put Mia into my arms before the cabin flooded... She begged me to take her away, to hide her from your family.""
Julian felt the ground give way beneath his feet. ""My family?""
""The Vance board... they wanted Evelyn gone... they wanted total control,"" Eleanor gasped, her vision beginning to cloud over. ""I ran... I raised Mia under a different name. Lily... her name is Lily now. But they found our apartment in Prague last week. They burned it to the ground.""
Another round of gunfire echoed across the estate, this time from automatic rifles near the outer gates. Screams and the shattering of glass drifted from the direction of the manor.
""Lily is still inside,"" Julian realized with sudden, gut-wrenching dread.
He didn't care about the board, the wealth, or the bullets whistling through the dark. His daughter was alive, sitting at the head of a banquet table in a house that was about to be breached.
""Marcus, take Eleanor to the bunker through the service tunnel!"" Julian ordered, rising to a low crouch.
""Sir, it's suicide! They have shooters covering the open lawn!"" Marcus yelled over the roar of the rain.
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""That's my daughter in that room,"" Julian snarled, his eyes blazing with cold fury.
He broke into a desperate sprint toward the shattered terrace doors just as the estate's main power grid cut out, plunging the mansion into utter darkness.
