Chapter 7 - The Defense of the East Wing
Back at the Lake Forest estate, the peace of the night had been shattered by the sound of breaking glass and automatic gunfire.
Alarm sirens blared through the corridors, flashing red lights illuminating the high ceilings.
Inside the nursery, Bella had pushed a massive oak wardrobe across the heavy double doors, blocking the entrance. She stood in the center of the room, holding a heavy iron fireplace poker in her shaking hands.
Behind her, Alex and Lena were curled under a thick blanket inside a closet, Alex holding his sister's hand tightly, his tiny face brave despite the tears leaking from his eyes.
"Mommy's here," Bella whispered toward the closet, her chest heaving as she listened to the chaos outside. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise."
BOOM!
The wooden doors trembled as something heavy slammed against them from the outside.
"Open the door, lady!" a rough voice shouted from the hallway. "Wendell wants the kids! Make it easy on yourself!"
"Go to hell!" Bella screamed back, raising the iron poker over her shoulder.
BOOM!
The oak wardrobe shifted six inches. The wood around the hinges began to splinter.
Bella’s mind raced. She was an accountant, a janitor, a woman who had spent her life trying to survive quietly. She had never fired a gun, never fought a war. But as she looked back at the closet where her children were hiding, something ancient and ferocious awakened in her chest.
She ran to the window.
The nursery was on the second floor, overlooking the stone courtyard. Below, she saw two attackers guarding a black van. But right outside the window grew an ancient, massive oak tree with thick branches reaching close to the glass.
Bella pulled a heavy bedsheet from the crib, tying it securely to the heavy radiator beneath the window.
BOOM!
The wardrobe gave way. A armed man in a tactical vest shoved his way into the room, his rifle raised.
"Found them—" he began.
Before he could raise his weapon, Bella lunged forward with all her weight, driving the iron fireplace poker straight into the side of the man's knee.
The man shrieked in agony, dropping to his joint.
Bella didn't hesitate. She swung the heavy iron rod with everything she had, striking him across the helmet, knocking him dazed to the floor. She snatched his dropped hand-radio and his sidearm—a heavy black pistol—though her hands shook violently as she held it.
She ran to the closet, pulling Alex and Lena out.
"Up on my back, sweetie!" Bella told Alex, while wrapping Lena tightly against her chest with the crib sheet. "We’re going out the window!"
"Mommy, I'm scared!" Lena whimpered.
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"Hold on to Mommy's neck!" Bella ordered, climbing onto the windowsill just as two more armed men burst into the hallway.
Without looking down, Bella threw herself onto the thick branch of the oak tree.
