Chapter 6 - The Sister Returns
I rushed to the window and peered cautiously through a small gap in the heavy wooden shutters. Dozens of heavily armed mercenaries surrounded the cabin, their bright flashlights piercing the dark forest. Standing aggressively in the center of the yard was my sister, Vanessa, wearing a pristine white coat. She raised a megaphone to her lips, her voice echoing unnaturally through the quiet and peaceful mountains. She demanded that Luca surrender the children immediately and step outside to face his inevitable death. I stepped back from the window, my hands trembling as pure panic threatened to completely consume me. Luca remained absolutely calm, accessing a hidden panel in the floorboards to reveal a massive weapons cache. He quickly loaded several high-powered rifles and handed me a small, sleek black pistol. He instructed me to take the twins into the underground panic room hidden beneath the kitchen pantry. I flatly refused to leave him alone to fight a small army completely by himself. He touched my cheek gently, his amber eyes entirely filled with a fierce and protective determination. He said his only job in this dangerous world was to ensure that I survived this terrible night. I grabbed the twins and hurried toward the kitchen, my heart breaking at the thought of losing him again. I opened the heavy steel door of the panic room and quickly ushered Ash and Lena down the stairs. Before I could step inside myself, a massive explosion completely shattered the front door of the cabin. The powerful shockwave threw me backward across the kitchen floor, temporarily blinding my vision with smoke. When the dust finally cleared slightly, I saw Vanessa confidently walking through the ruined doorway. She was not even looking at Luca, who was heavily pinned down by intense gunfire in the living room. She walked directly toward the open panic room door with a cruel, triumphant smile on her face.
