Chapter 9 - The Ultimatum at Midnight
The sharp, rhythmic pounding on the front heavy oak doors shattered the fragile quiet of the mansion at 2:15 AM.
It wasn't a subtle knock. It was the synchronized assault of battering rams.
"They're here," Daniel whispered, his expression hardening into absolute stone. He stood up instantly, grabbing an assault rifle from the concealed rack behind the bedroom mirror and sliding a tactical vest over his black shirt.
"Who?" Ava asked, terror gripping her throat.
"My uncle, Arthur Choi, and the elder council," Daniel said grimly, chambering a round with a sharp clack. "Vance must have tipped them off about the medical files. They want the child, Ava. They want a bloodline they can control, raised under their absolute thumb. They know we're packing to leave."
Gunfire erupted from the foyer downstairs as the heavy front doors gave way under the assault. Shouts, breaking glass, and the staccato pop of suppressed weapons echoed up the grand staircase.
"Listen to me," Daniel said, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look directly into his eyes. "Take the green duffel bag from the closet. Use the private service elevator in the back of the dressing room. It leads down to the old drainage tunnel that exits three blocks away by the park. A car is waiting there with my most trusted loyalist, Mateo."
"What about you?" Ava cried, tears finally spilling over her lashes. "Daniel, there are dozens of them!"
"I am going to buy you enough time to get out of the city," Daniel said, pressing a searing, desperate kiss to her forehead—his first real tender gesture since the day they met. "If I don't meet you at the airstrip by 4 AM, take the passports to Zurich. Live, Ava. Protect our child."
May you like
Before she could protest, he shoved her into the walk-in closet, slammed the secret panel shut, and turned to face the bedroom door as it splintered open under a hail of gunfire.
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