Chapter 2 - The Enemy Inside
I grabbed the heavy pistol hidden underneath the coffee table.
The front doors violently exploded inward in a shower of splintered wood.
I shoved Maria and Sofia behind the heavy marble fireplace for protection.
Three men in black tactical gear stormed into the grand foyer.
They were wearing the exact uniforms of my own elite security team.
I did not hesitate to pull the trigger.
The lead attacker dropped to the marble floor with a bullet in his chest.
I fired twice more, forcing the other two men to take cover behind a concrete pillar.
"Move to the hallway right now!" I yelled to Maria.
She scooped Sofia into her arms and ran while I provided suppressive covering fire.
We retreated into the darkened corridor that led to my private office.
I slammed the heavy steel security door shut behind us.
I locked the deadbolt just as bullets began hammering against the thick metal outside.
"Are they your own men?" Maria asked in absolute terror.
"They wear my uniform, but they answer to someone else," I replied grimly.
I led them to the massive oak bookshelf at the back of the office.
I pulled a specific leather-bound book, revealing a hidden digital keypad.
This was the entrance to my underground panic room.
I rapidly typed in my secure eight-digit access code.
The screen flashed red with an access denied warning.
My blood ran completely cold in my veins.
I typed the numbers again with shaking, desperate fingers.
The red warning blinked a second time.
Only one other person in the entire world had the administrative power to change this code.
It was my Uncle Silas.
He was the man who had practically raised me after my mother died.
Silas had betrayed me.
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The heavy steel door of the office suddenly began to glow bright orange.
The assassins were using a thermal cutting torch to melt through the hinges.
