Chapter 3 - Shattered Glass
The sudden flood of blinding light cast grotesque, elongated shadows across the living room walls. Maya screamed, ducking behind the kitchen counter as the silhouette of two towering figures appeared against the wet gravel outside. The rain was coming down harder now, drumming against the roof like a barrage of small stones.
""Sarah, take Maya upstairs right now,"" Clara ordered, her voice cutting through the panic with the precision of a drill sergeant. She didn't look back; she kept the iron skillet raised, her shoulders squared against Julian, who remained standing casually inside the doorframe.
""Mom, no, please—he's not bluffing,"" Sarah choked out. Her bare feet scrambled on the polished hardwood of the stairs, her breath hitching sharply as she clutched her wounded side. ""Julian, call them off! We don't have the drive here! It’s in the vault at St. Jude's!""
Julian didn't even turn his head. ""The hospital safe deposit box was emptied at four this afternoon, Sarah. Don't insult my intelligence. You had your sister courier it here before the surgery was even scheduled.""
Clara's stomach plummeted. Emily. Emily hadn't answered her phone in three days. But Clara couldn't afford to show fear. ""My daughter has no idea what you're talking about. You take one more step into this foyer, and I will treat this as an armed home invasion.""
""Be realistic, Clara,"" Julian sighed, taking a silver lighter from his pocket and turning it over in his manicured fingers. ""Look at yourself. You’re holding cookware. Outside are two men who spent a decade clearing compounds in Kandahar. They aren't here to negotiate property disputes.""
A loud, splintering crash echoed from the back of the house. The sound of shattered glass and a kicked-in mudroom door ripped through the hallway air. Maya shrieked, dropping to her knees by the pantry.
""They're inside!"" Maya wept, her hands covering her ears. ""Nana, they're in the house!""
Clara spun around, her heart hammering against her ribs. Heavy tactical boots crunched over broken glass in the kitchen hallway. The intruders hadn't waited for Julian's order; they were executing a pincer sweep, cutting off the back exit entirely.
May you like
Julian smiled serenely, folding his hands across his chest. ""Three minutes left, Clara. Where is the drive, or do we start with the granddaughter's bedroom?""
Clara looked at Sarah, whose face was ghostly white against the dark wood of the banister. Sarah met her mother’s gaze, her eyes darting downward toward the heavy, antique grandfather clock resting in the corner of the landing. Clara knew instantly what was hidden beneath the pendulum. But before she could move, a massive, black-clad figure stepped through the kitchen entryway, raising a silenced tactical pistol directly at Maya’s head.
