Chapter 4 - Whispers in the Estate
The news of an incoming strike team sent the Bellaro estate into immediate lockdown. Heavy steel security shutters descended over the floor-to-ceiling windows with a deep mechanical thud, sealing the mansion into an impenetrable fortress.
Dominic stepped over to the sofa, gently scooping sleeping Maisie into his massive, broad arms. He looked at Elena, his dark eyes fierce and protective.
"Follow me," Dominic commanded.
He led Elena and Frank down a hidden stone staircase located behind the study's bookshelf. The air grew cool and damp as they descended forty feet into the subterranean bunker beneath the mansion—a reinforced vault built from ten-inch solid concrete.
Dominic laid Maisie down on a plush leather cot in the corner of the bunker, covering her with a warm wool blanket.
Elena stood beside the cot, her eyes fixed on the sleeping child. Tears continued to spill down her rosy cheeks as she reached out a trembling hand, gently touching Maisie's small fingers.
"Seven years..." Elena whispered, her voice cracking with raw pain. "I spent seven years grieving a grave that was empty. I took a job as a servant in this house six months ago just to survive... never knowing my daughter was sleeping three floors above me."
Dominic walked up beside her, his tall, imposing frame blocking the light. "Why did you keep that bracelet, Elena?"
"It was the only thing I had left of her," Elena said, looking up into his blue-gray eyes. "My mother gave it to me before she passed away. The night I was in the hospital, the nurse slipped it into my coat pocket before they put me to sleep. I didn't know it had been engraved."
Frank walked over to the central security terminal, punching codes into the touch screen. "Boss, the satellite feed shows three black armored SUVs approaching our outer perimeter gates. They're carrying heavy tactical gear."
"Who authorized the strike team, Frank?" Dominic asked coldly.
"It's not just Dr. Vance, Boss," Frank reported, his voice tight. "The signal was authorized by Arthur Vance—Dr. Vance's elder brother, who sits as the chief legal trustee of the Bellaro foundation."
Dominic’s jaw set like iron. Arthur Vance had managed the syndicate's legal and financial trusts for twenty years. If Maisie was proven to be Elena's biological child and not Isabella's legal heir, the multi-billion-dollar trust fund controlled by Arthur Vance would be subject to immediate federal audit.
"They aren't coming to kill me, Frank," Dominic realized, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. "They're coming to eliminate Elena and the child before the bloodline records can be authenticated."
At that moment, a heavy explosion shuddered through the concrete ceiling above the bunker.
The lights flickered violently, and the bunker's emergency red lanterns clicked on, bathing the room in a blood-colored glow.
Through the bunker's security monitor, three armed men in black tactical suits were seen breaching the upper foyer of the mansion.
May you like
Dominic pulled a heavy sidearm from his shoulder holster, racking the slide with a crisp, lethal click. He looked at Elena, his eyes steady and unyielding.
"Stay inside this vault with Maisie," Dominic ordered flatly. "Nobody enters this room while I am breathing."
