Chapter 9 - The Siege Begins
As Silas walked out of the prison, his burner phone vibrated aggressively. It was Dante.
"Boss," Dante yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire in the background. "Julian wasn't acting alone! His private militia just breached the perimeter of the estate! We are under heavy fire!"
Silas broke into a dead sprint toward his armored SUV in the prison parking lot. "Elara! Where is she?!"
"Panic room with Mrs. Gable!" Dante shouted, firing a burst from his rifle before ducking behind cover. "Julian’s men are trying to blow the reinforced doors to the basement to break him out. We're holding them off at the grand staircase, but there's at least forty of them!"
"Do not let them reach the west wing," Silas roared, vaulting into the driver's seat and gunning the engine. "Execute Julian. Right now. Put a bullet in his head and throw his body down the stairs. Break their morale!"
"Copy that!" Dante yelled before the line went dead.
Silas drove like a madman, pushing the heavy SUV to a hundred and twenty miles an hour down the dark Massachusetts highways. His mind was a chaotic storm of fear and rage. Julian had planned this. He had mercenaries on standby just in case he was captured. They weren't just here to rescue him; they were here to burn Blackwood Manor to the ground and kill the true heir to the syndicate.
Back at the manor, the grand foyer was a war zone. Priceless paintings were shredded by crossfire. The antique chandelier crashed to the floor in a shower of glass and sparks. Dante stood at the top of the stairs, bleeding from a graze on his shoulder, defending the hallway leading to the west wing with absolute, ferocious loyalty.
He keyed his radio. "Basement team! Execute the prisoner! Over!"
Static hissed back.
"Basement team, respond!" Dante yelled.
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A chilling voice crackled over the radio. It wasn't the guards. It was Julian. "They're dead, Dante. And so are you."
Julian had escaped. The siege was no longer a rescue mission; it was a hostile takeover.
