Chapter 3 - The Midnight Betrayal
David stared at the chilling note in his hands as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
It was currently eleven o'clock at night.
He had exactly one hour before the Syndicate assassins arrived to murder him and his only son.
He shoved the terrible photographs into his pocket and ran back upstairs to the dining room.
The room was completely empty.
Sarah had vanished without a trace, leaving only a puddle of muddy water and ruined cake on the marble floor.
David pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed his head of security, a former marine named Vance.
"Vance, lock down the entire perimeter and get the armored SUV ready for immediate evacuation," David commanded through the phone.
"Understood, boss, I am heading to the control room right now," Vance replied with absolute professionalism.
David rushed to the second floor and pounded fiercely on Leo's bedroom door.
Maria opened the door cautiously, her face pale with extreme fear.
"Pack a small bag for Leo, we are leaving the estate right now," David whispered urgently.
Leo looked up from his bed, holding his favorite stuffed bear tightly against his chest.
"Is the snake lady coming back to get us?" the brave little boy asked softly.
"I will never let anyone hurt you, buddy," David promised, kissing his son's forehead lovingly.
Suddenly, the bright lights in the entire mansion violently flickered and completely died.
The expensive emergency backup generators did not kick in as they were supposed to.
David's phone buzzed loudly in his pocket with an incoming text message from Vance.
The message read: "Control room compromised, they cut the hardlines."
David drew his registered handgun from the lockbox under his bed and chambered a round.
"Stay closely behind me and do not make a single sound," David instructed Maria and Leo.
They crept slowly down the dark hallway toward the back service staircase.
As they reached the wooden landing, David heard heavy footsteps moving through the kitchen below them.
He peeked carefully over the wooden banister, holding his breath in absolute terror.
Three men dressed in tactical black gear were sweeping the first floor with silenced weapons.
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And leading the armed men was someone David recognized instantly.
It was Vance, his trusted head of security, pointing directly up at their hiding spot.
