Chapter 2 - The Lockdown
The deafening metallic crash of the security shutters made several guests scream in terror.
The festive Christmas music abruptly cut off.
The ambient lighting flickered once before plunging the entire mansion into a dim, eerie red glow.
"Emergency lockdown protocol initiated," a mechanical voice echoed through the hidden ceiling speakers.
"Remain calm and stay away from the exits."
I instinctively placed both hands over my pregnant belly, shielding my unborn daughter.
"Did you trigger this?" I hissed at Julian.
"No," he replied, his eyes scanning the panicked crowd of billionaires and socialites.
"Someone else just sealed us inside."
I needed to find Matthias and demand answers about his family's insane security system.
I pushed through the terrified guests, ignoring the agonizing pain in my swollen feet.
I reached the hallway leading to the private study where Matthias had taken Fiona.
The hallway was completely empty, but the study door was slightly ajar.
I cautiously pushed it open, expecting to find my husband frantically making phone calls.
Instead, I found Fiona standing alone behind the massive oak desk.
She was hurriedly stuffing stacks of documents into a leather briefcase.
"Where is my husband?" I demanded, stepping into the room.
Fiona jumped, dropping a file onto the Persian rug.
She looked at me, and the innocent, glamorous mistress act completely vanished from her eyes.
"You really shouldn't be here, Serena," she said coldly.
"I live here," I reminded her.
"Not for much longer," she sneered, closing the briefcase with a sharp click.
I noticed something metallic gleaming inside her expensive designer clutch on the desk.
It was a suppressed handgun.
My trauma nurse instincts kicked in, screaming at me to run.
"You aren't just a communications director, are you?" I asked, backing slowly toward the door.
Fiona smiled, picking up the weapon with terrifying ease.
"Matthias is a naive idiot who thinks I actually care about his money," she said.
She raised the gun and pointed it directly at my stomach.
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"I was hired to make sure your baby never inherits the Dre family trust," Fiona whispered.
Before she could pull the trigger, the heavy brass chandelier above her violently detached from the ceiling and crashed directly onto the desk.
