Chapter 1 - The Lockdown
The silence in the kitchen felt heavier than the gun strapped to my chest.
I stared at Grace, waiting for the punchline to a terrible joke.
She didn't smile.
Sophie buried her face deeper into Grace's apron.
My own daughter was terrified of me.
I took a slow step backward and raised my hands to show I wasn't a threat.
I asked Grace to repeat what she had just said.
Grace swallowed hard and kept her arms wrapped protectively around my girls.
She told me Sophie had recognized a voice in the hallway.
It was a voice Sophie hadn't heard since the day Isabelle died.
My mind raced through the list of every man currently inside my house.
There were only five of my most trusted guards on the property today.
These were men who had bled for me.
I pulled out my phone and activated the mansion's absolute lockdown protocol.
Steel shutters slammed down over the windows.
Heavy locks engaged on every exterior door.
The emergency lights bathed the kitchen in a harsh red glow.
Grace gasped and pulled the girls closer to the pantry.
I told her not to move and that nobody was going to hurt them.
I stepped into the hallway and drew my weapon.
I marched toward the security room where my right-hand man, Enzo, was stationed.
Enzo had been with me since we were teenagers in Brooklyn.
I kicked the door open and leveled my gun at his chest.
Enzo didn't even flinch.
He slowly raised his hands and looked at the camera monitors.
I demanded to know who else had entered the house in the last hour.
He pointed to the screen showing the basement garage.
A black van with no license plates was parked near the private elevator.
Enzo looked me dead in the eye and said he didn't let them in.
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Then the security monitors flickered and completely died.
We were officially trapped in the dark with my wife's killer.
