Chapter 44 - The Midnight Blackout
The silence that followed was suffocating. Outside the manor, a low rumble echoed through the hills—not thunder, but the sudden, deliberate detonation of the primary electrical substation along River Road.
The chandelier died instantly. The estate plunged into pitch-black darkness, illuminated only by the faint silver moonlight filtering through the tall sash windows and the crimson targeting lasers that snapped onto the walls.
"Kill them," Eleanor commanded, her voice dropping all pretense of elegance. "Take the drive from her corpse!"
Muzzle flashes erupted in the hallway with deafening concussions. David reacted with lethal instinct, shoving me behind the mahogany grandfather clock as heavy rounds tore through the plaster, splintering the oak paneling of our childhood home.
David returned fire, two rapid double-taps echoing in the tight corridor. The lead contractor collapsed with a dull thud. From the rear stairwell, Detective Miller and two trusted tactical officers opened up a suppressing barrage, cutting off Eleanor’s vanguard.
"Sarah, move to the kitchen tunnel! Now!" David roared, swapping magazines with fluid speed as empty brass clattered against the hardwood floor.
"Not without you!" I screamed back, clutching the drive against my chest.
"I’m right behind you, go!"
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I sprinted low along the service corridor, the smell of cordite and burning drywall filling my lungs. Behind me, the sound of glass shattering and heavy boots signaled more infiltrators breaching through the conservatory. Eleanor had brought an entire hit squad; she had never intended to negotiate, only to slaughter every living witness to her thirty-year crime.
As I reached the reinforced steel door of the underground tunnel leading toward the old rail spur, a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder from the shadows, spinning me around violently.
