Chapter 6 - The Breach at Northwood
Claire didn't hesitate. She didn't scream, and she didn't attempt to reason with him.
She grabbed the heavy brass vase off the floor and threw it with all the strength in her body straight at Julian’s head.
Julian ducked instinctively, the heavy metal vase shattering a framed glass portrait on the wall behind him. That split second was all Claire needed. She turned and sprinted down the hallway as fast as her legs could carry her, shouting at the top of her lungs:
"VICTOR! GRANT! SECURITY!"
"Shut her up!" Julian growled into his satellite phone as he gave chase, firing a suppressed shot that tore through the drywall inches from Claire’s ear.
Claire burst through the heavy double doors leading to the main grand hall just as the estate’s emergency alarms began to blare. Red strobe lights flashed against the marble walls, accompanied by the deafening screech of the perimeter breach sirens.
From the basement stairs, Grant and Victor came charging up, weapons drawn.
"Claire!" Grant yelled, seeing her running toward them.
"Julian is the mole!" Claire gasped, skidding to a stop behind Grant's massive frame. "He’s overriding the north gate! He’s on a satellite phone!"
Before Victor could process the betrayal of his second-in-command, the massive stained-glass windows of the grand hall exploded inward in a shower of lethal glass shards.
Heavy automatic gunfire ripped through the foyer.
"DOWN!" Grant roared, tackling Claire to the marble floor and covering her body with his own as bullets chewed through the antique furniture, plaster, and artwork above them.
Outside, three black heavy-armored assault vehicles crashed straight through the wrought-iron security gates, coming to a halt on the front lawn. Dozens of heavily armed men in black tactical gear poured out, breaching the front terrace with flashbang grenades and automatic rifles.
Mikhail Markov wasn't waiting for a quiet kidnapping anymore. Knowing his plot had been exposed, he had launched an all-out military assault on the Whitmore estate to eliminate Grant, take Lily, and burn Northwood to the ground.
Victor engaged the attackers from behind a stone pillar, firing precise, deadly shots while bellowing into his radio: "All teams, defense protocol Alpha! Protect the master! Clear the basement routes!"
Grant dragged Claire behind the thick mahogany staircase as plaster dust rained down on them like white snow.
"Where is Lily?!" Grant demanded, his eyes wide with lethal urgency.
"She’s in the basement rest room with the female guard!" Claire shouted over the deafening roar of gunfire. "The door is biometrically locked!"
"Julian has master access codes!" Grant realized, his face turning pale. "He’s going straight for her!"
Grant checked the magazine of his custom pistol, slapping it back into the grip with a heavy thud. He looked at Claire, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. The flour smudges on her apron were now mixed with gray plaster dust and soot, but her eyes were wide, clear, and unyielding.
"Listen to me, Claire," Grant said, his voice cutting through the chaos of the gunfight. "I need you to get down to that basement through the kitchen utility shaft. You know how Lily signs. You know how she thinks. If Julian gets to her first, she won't fight back unless she knows you're there."
"What about you?" Claire asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"I’m going to kill every man who set foot on my lawn," Grant said, his voice dropping into a chilling, absolute promise. "Now go!"
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Grant stood up, stepping out from behind the stairs and opening fire with terrifying precision, driving back a squad of tactical shooters advancing through the front doors.
Claire turned and scrambled toward the kitchen, running toward the dark, hidden utility access that led straight into the heart of the fortress.
