Chapter 5 - The Shattered Fortress
The attack was loud, coordinated, and brutal.
"Get down!" Corbin shouted, throwing his heavy frame over Sadi as bullets tore through the plaster walls, destroying the priceless paintings and scattering wood splinters through the air. The alarms in the house began to wail, a deafening, rhythmic scream that mingled with the exchange of gunfire outside.
Corbin pulled a heavy black pistol from his waistband, his face a mask of absolute fury. He looked down at Sadi, who was pressed against the marble floor, her eyes wide with terror but remarkably focused.
"Finch!" Corbin roared over the noise. "Take Sadi to the upper corridor! Get Noel!"
"I'm not leaving without Noel!" Sadi screamed, her voice cutting through the chaos. She tried to push herself up, but Corbin held her down with one massive hand.
"Listen to me!" Corbin barked, his eyes locking onto hers with terrifying intensity. "My men will cover you. Go to my daughter. Keep her safe. I will end this."
Sadi stared into his eyes, seeing the absolute certainty in them. She nodded once. Corbin released her, turning toward the shattered window, his gun barking in rapid, precise succession as three masked men tried to breach the terrace.
Finch grabbed Sadi’s hand, pulling her up. "This way! Move!"
They sprinted up the sweeping staircase as bullets chipped away at the marble banister behind them. Sadi’s heart pounded against her ribs like a trapped bird. The violent world she had feared had finally broken through the gates, and all she could think about was the little girl trapped upstairs in the dark.
They reached Noel’s room just as the door was kicked open from the inside. A masked attacker was dragging a terrified, silent Noel out by her arm. Noel was kicking, her eyes wild, her small hands clawing at the man's heavy tactical vest.
"Noel!" Sadi screamed.
The attacker turned, raising a submachine gun toward Sadi. But Finch was faster. Two loud cracks echoed through the hallway, and the man collapsed onto the carpet.
Sadi didn't hesitate. She lunged forward, catching Noel before she could fall, pulling the little girl into her arms and sprinting down the secondary service hallway as more footsteps echoed from the main stairs.
"They bypassed the outer perimeter gates," Finch growled, reloading his weapon as he ran alongside them. "Inside job or someone had the security codes. We need to get to the basement safe room."
They reached the heavy steel door of the panic room at the end of the lower hallway, but before Finch could punch in the code, a flash grenade bounced down the corridor.
A blinding light and a deafening explosion shattered Sadi’s senses. She fell to the floor, wrapping her body entirely around Noel, her ears ringing, her vision reduced to white, blurred shapes. Through the haze, she saw Finch fall, struggling to raise his gun as three figures stepped out of the smoke.
One of them walked up, kicking Finch's gun away, before looking down at Sadi and Noel. The man pulled down his mask, revealing a scarred, cruel face and a mocking smile.
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It was Omar Cigretti.
"Well, well," Omar sneered, his voice dripping with venom as he looked down at the child. "Corbin's little legacy. You look just like your mother did before she took a bullet for him."
