Chapter 5 - Ambush at St. Catherine’s
The room plunged into utter pitch blackness.
Instantly, the emergency backup generators hummed to life, casting an eerie, amber glow through the corridor outside. The cardiac monitors let out a sharp beep as they reset.
Daniel didn't panic. With terrifying speed, he shifted Leo back into Rachel’s arms, pushing her down behind the heavy, bulletproof frame of the medical sofa.
"Stay down!" Daniel ordered, drawing a high-caliber handgun from his waist holster.
Outside in the hallway, gunshots shattered the quiet night—muffled, rhythmic bursts of suppressed gunfire. The heavy guards stationed outside Suite A were engaged.
"It's an internal hit squad!" Mateo barked, taking cover by the doorframe. "They bypassed the elevator security using a master keycard from the administration office!"
Rachel huddled behind the sofa, pulling Leo tightly against her chest, wrapping her own body around him to shield him from ricochets. The baby began to cry, frightened by the loud noises and sudden shadows.
"Shh, baby, shh," Rachel whimpered, tears pouring down her face as she hummed hysterically through her fear, trying to keep Leo’s heart from failing under the extreme stress.
A heavy kick smashed open the suite's reinforced glass door. A masked man clad in dark tactical gear stepped into the room, raising a silenced submachine gun aimed directly at the armchair where Rachel had been sitting seconds before.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Bullets chewed through the leather upholstery.
Before the shooter could adjust his aim toward the sofa, Daniel stepped out from the shadows of the corner. His face was a mask of cold, merciless fury.
BANG! BANG!
Daniel fired twice without hesitation. The double-tap struck the assassin cleanly in the throat and chest. The attacker collapsed onto the floor, blood pooling across the white tiles.
Another gunman surged through the doorway. Mateo fired three rounds into his chest, dropping him instantly.
"Clear!" Mateo shouted, sweeping the corridor outside. "They were three men! We got all of them!"
Daniel stepped over the dead body of the assassin, his gun still raised, scanning the hallway. His eyes caught something on the vest of the fallen attacker—a small, silver lapel pin shaped like an anvil.
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
"The Anvil," Daniel growled, his voice vibrating with lethal hatred. "This isn't the Moretti family. This is Victor Vance."
Mateo gasped. "Vance? Your Chief of Security?"
"He betrayed us," Daniel said, his eyes blazing. "He knew every security protocol on this floor. He orchestrated the hit on Lake Shore Drive, and he sent these men to finish Leo."
Daniel turned back into the room. He rushed over to the sofa and dropped to his knees beside Rachel.
Rachel was trembling violently, her eyes wide with terror, but her body remained locked around the infant. Leo was whimpering, but his oxygen levels were holding stable.
"Are you hurt?" Daniel asked, his rough hands frantically checking Rachel’s arms, her neck, her face for blood. "Rachel, speak to me!"
"I'm... I'm okay," Rachel sobbed, clutching the baby. "We're okay..."
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Daniel reached out and pulled both Rachel and the baby into his arms, wrapping his massive frame around them in a tight, desperate embrace.
"They won't touch you again," Daniel vowed into her hair, his voice terrifying in its intensity. "I swear to you on my life, Rachel. I will tear this city apart until everyone who threatened you and my son is buried."
