Chapter 3 - The First AttackThe first bullet struck the gate at 11:42 p.m.
The sound shattered the silence.
I woke instantly.
Elias was already inside my room.
“Stay here.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Another shot echoed.
I grabbed his arm.
“They're here.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My husband.”
Elias turned toward the door.
“Lock it.”
Then he left.
I could hear footsteps throughout the hallway.
Men shouting.
Doors opening.
The security system activating.
My daughters began crying.
I ran to the nursery.
The windows were reinforced.
The door had a steel lock.
I pulled both babies into my arms.
“Mommy's here.”
I was terrified.
Then the hallway went silent.
Too silent.
The door opened.
Elias stepped inside.
There was blood on his sleeve.
I gasped.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“That's not your blood.”
“No.”
He looked at the babies.
“They're safe.”
I nodded.
Then I saw the man behind him.
He was one of Elias's guards.
He had been shot in the shoulder.
“Get him downstairs,” Elias ordered.
The guard nodded.
After they left, I whispered,
“Why did they attack?”
“They wanted you.”
“Did they know where I was?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Elias looked at me.
“Someone inside my organization betrayed me.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
He moved toward the window.
“They knew the exact location of the nursery.”
I looked at my daughters.
“Then we're not safe.”
“Not yet.”
“What happens now?”
Elias turned.
“We move.”
“Where?”
“A place nobody knows exists.”
I stared at him.
“You're running?”
“No.”
His expression became cold.
“I'm hunting.”
Before dawn, we left the estate.
The convoy drove through underground tunnels beneath Manhattan.
We arrived at an old building near the river.
From outside, it looked abandoned.
Inside, it was a fortress.
Security doors.
Medical equipment.
Food.
Beds.
Everything.
Elias walked me into a private room.
“You'll stay here.”
“And you?”
“I have business.”
“With my husband?”
“With everyone who thinks they can touch you.”
I grabbed his hand.
“Elias.”
He stopped.
“Be careful.”
For a moment, his expression softened.
Then he squeezed my hand.
“I will.”
He walked away.
I watched him disappear through the steel door.
And for the first time, I realized something terrifying.
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I wasn't afraid of the men hunting me anymore.
I was afraid of losing the man who had decided I was worth protecting.
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