Chapter 9 - The Echo of Screams
Downstairs, in the soundproofed confines of his architectural study, Daniel was staring at a complex blueprint. He had his heavy, noise-canceling headphones over his ears, listening to classical music to drown out the world. He was completely oblivious to the terror unfolding on the second floor.
He leaned over the drafting table, rubbing his tired eyes. He reached for his coffee mug, only to realize it was empty. Sighing heavily, he pulled the headphones down around his neck, intending to make a quick trip to the kitchen for a refill.
The moment the noise-canceling seal was broken, the silence of the study was pierced by a sound that made his blood run completely cold.
It was a scream. Not a playful shriek or a minor cry of frustration. It was the high-pitched, absolute terror of a child facing genuine violence. It was Sofía.
Daniel dropped his coffee mug. It shattered against the hardwood floor, sending ceramic shards flying across the room, but he didn't even notice. The primitive, biological alarm inside his brain was screaming.
He threw the heavy study door open and sprinted into the hallway.
"Mateo! Sofía!" Daniel roared, his deep voice shaking the chandelier in the foyer.
"Dad! Help us!" Mateo’s desperate, panicked voice echoed down the grand staircase.
Daniel didn't run up the stairs; he bounded up them three at a time, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. As he crested the landing, he saw the splintered, ruined door of the nursery hanging off its hinges.
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He heard Rebeca’s voice, harsh and unrecognizable, screaming obscenities. He heard the terrifying, heavy thud of steel hitting wood.
A surge of protective adrenaline, stronger than anything he had ever felt in his life, flooded his veins. He didn't think about his fiancée. He didn't think about his career or his grief. He thought only of his children. Daniel covered the length of the hallway in a dead sprint, throwing himself into the nursery like a human battering ram, completely unprepared for the nightmare waiting inside.
