Chapter 20 - An Open Horizon|
The sudden sound of breaking glass echoed up from the lower service basement at 3:15 AM, immediately followed by the sharp crack of an alarm speaker cutting through the house.
Elena’s body went rigid.
Raphael didn't hesitate. He pulled Elena behind him, pushing her into the reinforced safe room built hidden behind the nursery’s main wardrobe wall.
"Stay inside. Lock it from the panel," Raphael commanded, his dark eyes burning with absolute, unwavering resolve.
"Raphael, wait!" Elena cried out, reaching for his arm. "Don't go down there alone!"
"I’m not alone. Marco is downstairs," Raphael said softly, touching her face gently one last time. "I spent months learning how not to control you, Elena. Now let me protect you."
He pulled the heavy steel door shut. The lock clicked with a heavy, magnetic seal, isolating Elena inside the soundproof room.
On the security monitor mounted inside the safe room wall, Elena watched the black-and-white feed of the main staircase.
She saw Marco moving fast up the hallway with his weapon drawn. She saw Raphael standing at the top of the stairs, looking down into the darkness where a shadow was rapidly ascending.
Suddenly, a severe, sharp contraction rippled across Elena’s lower body.
She gasped, clutching her stomach as her water broke, spilling onto the cold tile floor of the safe room.
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Outside the heavy steel door, gunshot echoes muffled through the walls. Inside, the heart rate monitor she wore began to beep rapidly as her body entered active labor.
Trapped between the impending arrival of her child and the deadly clash echoing just feet away, Elena pressed her hand to the door lock panel, her fingers hovering over the release button.
