Chapter 5 - Shadows in the Safe House
The victory in the boardroom was sweet, but the danger wasn't entirely over.
When I returned to the Bedford estate, the atmosphere was quiet, almost too quiet. The fog had rolled back in, wrapping the stone mansion in a ghostly embrace. I hurried inside, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Sylvie?" I called out, rushing up the stairs.
I found her in the nursery. She was sitting in a rocking chair, holding both babies close, her eyes red-rimmed. Clara, the nurse, was standing nearby, looking nervous.
"Damon," Sylvie gasped, looking up. "Is it over?"
"Sterling is in federal custody," I said, kneeling beside her and taking her hand. "The contract is gone. It's over, Sylvie. We are safe."
She let out a long, shaky breath, her shoulders sagging with relief. "I couldn't sleep. Every time the wind blew, I thought they were coming for them."
"Nobody is coming," I murmured, kissing her forehead. "I'm here. I'm not leaving again."
For the next three days, we lived in a bubble of domestic peace. I didn't go to the office. I ignored my emails. My assistant managed the company, while I learned how to change diapers, how to burp a baby, and how to operate on three hours of sleep.
It was exhausting, but it was the happiest I had been in years.
I watched Sylvie heal. The color returned to her cheeks, and her laughter, a sound I hadn't realized I missed so desperately, filled the quiet halls of the estate. We talked—not about lawyers or assets, but about our mistakes. We apologized. We cried. We began to rebuild the foundation we had shattered.
But on the fourth night, the bubble popped.
I was downstairs in the kitchen, warming a bottle of milk, when the house lights suddenly went dark. The backup generators, which should have kicked in instantly, remained silent.
"Marcus?" I whispered into my earpiece.
Only static answered.
A chill ran down my spine. The estate's security system had been bypassed. Someone had cut the main power lines and jammed our communications.
May you like
I dropped the bottle and ran up the stairs in the dark, my heart pounding like a war drum.
As I reached the second-floor landing, a shadow lunged at me from the darkness.
