Chapter 7 - Abduction & Wrath
The attack came not from the gates, but from the old subterranean wine tunnels beneath the estate.
Victor Vance had never been at the Calumet River. He had leaked a false trail using an encrypted burner phone to draw Salem and his heavy strike team away, leaving the fortress stripped of its primary defense.
Smoke grenades smashed through the stained-glass windows of the foyer, filling the hall with blinding white tear gas.
Frank rushed forward, gun drawn, shouting orders to the remaining guards. "Protect the girl! Get Mattie to the panic room!"
Two guards grabbed Mattie’s arms, rushing her toward the hidden steel vault behind the dining room. But before they could reach it, the shadows converged. Men in black tactical gear burst from the cellar doors, firing with silenced submachine guns. Frank took a bullet to the shoulder, collapsing against the marble stairs.
Mattie fought like a wildcat. She kicked, bit, and slammed a heavy bronze candelabra into the face of the first assailant who reached for her, splitting his cheek open.
"Feisty little cow!" a familiar, sneering voice barked through the smoke.
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Victor Vance stepped through the haze, his face bruised from his earlier escape, a heavy revolver pointed straight at Mattie’s forehead.
"You’re Salem
