Chapter 15 - The Breach at the Estate
|
We didn't wait for the morning sun. By 3:00 AM, our private jet was in the air, flying us away from the coastal resort and back to our heavily fortified estate in the mountains. The boys slept peacefully through the flight, oblivious to the nightmare that had just awakened.
I spent the entire flight coordinating with my head of security, Marcus. He was a former Navy SEAL who had been loyal to me since my corporate days. I ordered a full lockdown of the estate. Double the guards, activate the laser grids, and monitor every incoming vehicle within a ten-mile radius.
When the convoy of black SUVs pulled up to the steel gates of our home just as dawn broke, I finally felt a marginal sense of control. The stone walls of the estate loomed like a fortress.
Mara carried a sleeping Micah out of the car, while I took Mason and Max. Marcus met us at the front door, his tactical rifle slung across his chest. His face was grim.
"Report," I demanded as we walked into the grand foyer.
"Perimeter is secure, boss," Marcus said, his voice low. "But... you need to see something upstairs."
Mara and I exchanged a terrified glance. "Take the boys to the panic room," I told her, handing over the sleeping toddlers. "Do not come out until I say so."
Mara nodded, her face pale but determined, and hurried down the hall.
I followed Marcus up the grand sweeping staircase to the boys' shared bedroom. The heavy oak door was ajar.
"We swept the house an hour before you landed," Marcus explained, stepping aside to let me enter. "No alarms were tripped. The security feeds show absolutely zero breaches. The thermal cameras picked up nothing."
I stepped into the room. It looked perfectly normal. Their toys were put away, their four small beds neatly made with their favorite superhero blankets. But as I walked closer to the center of the room, the blood drained from my face.
Resting perfectly in the center of the plush blue rug was a single, black chess piece. A King.
"How did this get in here?" I roared, spinning around to face Marcus.
May you like
"I don't know, sir," Marcus admitted, looking humiliated. "Whoever did this bypassed millions of dollars in security without leaving a digital footprint."
Victor wasn't just sending a message. He was showing me that my fortress was an illusion. He could get to my children whenever he wanted. The black King mocked me from the floor—a promise of an imminent checkmate.
