Chapter 5 - The Intruder in the Master Suite
Elise slammed her hand against the interior manual override button, slowing the closing steel door just enough to peek through the narrowing four-inch gap.
Two men in black tactical gear, balaclavas hiding their faces, stepped through the shattered remains of the master bedroom doors. They carried suppressed submachine guns, sweeping the room with lethal efficiency.
"Clear!" the first one hissed into his comm-link. "Master suite is empty. They must be in the nursery wing."
"Move fast," a harsh voice crackled back through the earpiece. "The Boss is already heading back from downtown. We have less than three minutes before Moretti’s convoy breaches the outer gates."
The two intruders fanned out, checking the walk-in closets and the adjoining bathroom.
Inside the panic room, Elise held her breath, clamping her hand over Rosie’s mouth to stifle a whimper. The little girl's wide eyes were filled with absolute terror, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. Maisie clutched Elise’s waist so tightly her small knuckles turned white.
Please, Vincent, hurry, Elise prayed silently, her heart hammering against her ribs like a sledgehammer. Hurry.
Suddenly, the heavy steel door of the panic room clicked completely shut, sealing them inside absolute, soundproof silence. The red LED indicator shifted to solid green, locking from the inside. They were safe behind eight inches of reinforced titanium-alloy steel.
But outside, the intruders were running out of time—and desperation made men dangerous.
On the small surveillance monitor mounted inside the panic room, Elise watched in horror as one of the men noticed the slight seam in the mahogany bookshelf where the hidden door sat. He walked over, running his gloved hand along the wooden molding.
"Command, we found the safe room," the intruder whispered into his radio. "The panic room is active. They're inside."
"Blow the hinge," the voice replied. "Take the kids. Leave the nanny if she fights."
The intruder unhooked a small, cylindrical C4 charge from his tactical belt and slapped it directly onto the steel reinforced frame surrounding the bookshelf.
Elise backed away from the screen, pulling the girls down behind a heavy steel workbench in the corner of the panic room. She grabbed a thick wool blanket, wrapping it around the children and curling her own body protectively over theirs.
Three... two... one...
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The explosion wasn't deafening because of the room's soundproofing, but the shockwave hit like a physical blow. The entire floor shook violently, showering the interior of the safe room with a rain of splintered wood, drywall dust, and shattered glass. The pneumatic seals hissed, and smoke billowed into the narrow gap of the blown-out doorframe.
Through the settling dust, a black-clad figure appeared at the breached threshold, holding a crowbar and peering into the dark interior of the panic room with a malicious grin.
