CHAPTER 11 – “THE STORM RETURNS TO THE ESTATE”
CHAPTER 11 – “THE STORM RETURNS TO THE ESTATE”
At 2:13 AM, the perimeter alarms went silent.
Not broken.
Disabled.
That was worse.
Because it meant someone had access.
Marco barely had time to react before the first breach occurred.
Not an explosion.
A coordinated entry.
Silent professionals.
Not mafia.
Something cleaner.
Military-trained.
Vincent ordered evacuation of Matteo immediately.
But Matteo refused to leave Lily’s side.
“I’m not going,” the boy said, gripping her hand.
Vincent knelt. “You have to—”
“No,” Matteo said firmly. “She stayed for me. I stay for her.”
That moment shattered something in Vincent.
Because he realized—
This wasn’t protection anymore.
It was choice.
And he had never asked Lily what she chose.
Gunfire echoed outside the estate walls.
Not chaotic.
Precise.
The intruders weren’t destroying the house.
They were clearing a path to her.
Marco shouted from the corridor. “They’re inside the west wing!”
Vincent turned to Lily.
“What are they coming for?” he asked.
She looked at him.
And for the first time—
May you like
answered without fear.
“Me.”
