Chapter 17 - The Siege of the Mansion
Back at the Reyes estate, the night was eerily quiet. The heavy rain pounded against the massive windows, masking the sounds of the outside world. Lucía was sitting in Sofía’s room, reading a bedtime story, unaware of the chaos unfolding at the gala downtown.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Alejandro.
"Lucía, lock the doors!" Alejandro shouted over the roar of the police sirens in his background. "Valeria escaped the arrest. She's in a car, and I think she's heading toward the house. Get Sofía into the panic room right now!"
Lucía’s blood turned to ice. She dropped the book, scooped a half-asleep Sofía into her arms, and bolted out of the bedroom. "I understand! We are moving now!"
As she ran down the grand staircase toward the reinforced safe room in the basement, a terrifying sound echoed through the foyer.
CRASH.
Valeria hadn't bothered trying to bypass the security gates quietly. She had driven the heavy town car straight through the wrought-iron barricade and smashed it directly into the mansion's heavy oak front doors, splintering the wood and triggering every alarm in the house.
Lucía froze on the landing. Through the shattered entrance, Valeria crawled over the deployed airbags of the ruined car. She looked like a nightmare—her expensive gown torn and soaked with rain, her makeup running in dark streaks down her face, and her eyes wide with total madness.
In her hand, she held a heavy steel tire iron she had grabbed from the trunk.
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"Where is she?!" Valeria screamed, stepping into the grand foyer, rainwater dripping from her hair. "If I go down, she goes with me!"
Lucía didn't hesitate. She tightened her grip on Sofía and sprinted the rest of the way down the stairs, ignoring the terrifying, frantic footsteps of the monster chasing them.
