Chapter 14 - The Target Changes

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The hours dragged on like a slow-bleeding wound.

Ellie paced the penthouse living room, her phone silent. The news channels were running breaking coverage of the harbor explosion, calling it a "tragic industrial accident," but Ellie knew the truth. It was a mafia war, playing out in broad daylight.

Liam was asleep on the couch, exhausted by the tension in the air.

Suddenly, Leo walked into the room, looking pale. He held his phone out to Ellie.

“El… someone just texted me this.”

Ellie took the phone. It was from an unknown number. The image on the screen made her blood run completely cold. It was a live surveillance photo of the penthouse lobby downstairs. The message below it read:

The King left the castle. We are coming for the Queen.

“Marcus!” Ellie screamed, sprinting toward the hallway.

The head of security appeared instantly, his weapon drawn. “What is it?”

She shoved the phone into his chest. Marcus took one look at the photo and tapped his earpiece furiously. “Lobby team, report. Lobby team, do you copy?”

Static hissed back.

“We have a breach,” Marcus roared, turning to his remaining men. “Secure the stairwells! They bypassed the private elevator!”

Ellie didn’t freeze. The adrenaline from the gala returned, sharper and colder. She grabbed Leo by the arm. “Wake Liam up. Now. We are going to the safe room.”

Jack had shown her the panic room on her second day—a reinforced steel bunker hidden behind his office bookshelf.

Gunfire suddenly erupted in the lower level of the penthouse. The Volkov hit squad was already inside.

“Go!” Marcus yelled, providing cover fire down the massive glass staircase as men in tactical gear swarmed upward.

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Ellie pushed Leo and a terrified Liam into the study, slamming the heavy mahogany door shut behind them and locking the deadbolt. It wouldn't hold them for long, but it bought her seconds. She reached for the book that triggered the hidden door.

But before she could pull it, the study door was blown off its hinges.