Chapter 6 - Midnight at the Manor
The wail of the estate’s security alarm pierced the night air, high-pitched and urgent. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hardwood hallway outside my bedroom door. Before I could scramble out of bed, the door flew open, and Marcus appeared. He was in dark jeans and a black sweater, holding a secure tactical radio in one hand.
""Stay where you are, Claire,"" Marcus commanded, his voice remarkably calm despite the flashing amber warning lights reflecting against the walls. ""Alexander rammed an SUV through the secondary service gate. Security has already deployed vehicle spikes, but he abandoned the car and ran toward the west courtyard on foot.""
""He sounded completely unhinged on the phone, Marcus,"" I said, my voice shaking as I wrapped a thick cashmere robe around my pregnant frame. ""He’s lost everything. The federal raid broke him.""
""Then he has nothing left to lose, which makes him dangerous,"" Marcus said, stepping into the room and locking the heavy reinforced door behind him. ""The local police department is five minutes out. My private security team has the perimeter covered. You are completely safe in this room.""
A sudden crash of shattering glass echoed from the ground floor below, followed by the muffled shouting of security guards and a man screaming my name. Alexander’s voice was unmistakable—feral, desperate, and echoing with absolute ruin.
""CLAIRE! COME OUT HERE! CLAIRE!""
A sudden, sharp, searing spasm ripped through my lower abdomen—far more intense than any Braxton Hicks contraction I had experienced. A sharp cry slipped past my lips, and my knees buckled beneath me.
Marcus crossed the room in a blur, catching me in his arms before I hit the floor. He lifted me effortlessly, carrying me to the plush velvet sofa. ""Claire! What's happening?""
""The baby..."" I gasped, clenching my teeth as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. ""Marcus... the contractions... they're real. My water broke.""
Marcus’s face tightened, his protective instincts kicking into hyperdrive. He immediately activated his radio. ""Dr. Evans! Get the medical team up to the third-floor master suite immediately! Mrs. Moretti is in active labor!""
Downstairs, the commotion grew louder. The sound of a physical struggle erupted on the grand staircase, followed by the heavy thud of bodies hitting the floor. Alexander had somehow slipped past the outer perimeter in the pouring rain, driven by pure madness, and had broken through the French doors of the terrace.
The bedroom door rattled violently. Someone was slamming their shoulder against the solid oak wood.
""CLAIRE! OPEN THIS DOOR!"" Alexander shrieked, rattling the brass handle. ""I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE WITH HIM! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!""
Marcus looked at me, his eyes full of tenderness and fierce determination. He reached out, gently wiping the sweat from my brow. ""Focus on breathing, Claire. Just look at me. I won't let anyone touch you or our little girl.""
He rose, turning toward the door with an aura of lethal finality. He unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open just enough to step into the hallway, confronting Alexander face-to-face.
Through the crack of the door, I saw Alexander. He was soaked to the skin, his expensive suit torn and covered in mud, blood trickling from a cut above his left eyebrow where he had struggled with the guards. In his hand, he clutched a crumpled manila folder—his desperate, pathetic evidence against Marcus Kane.
""Get out of my way, Kane,"" Alexander snarled, lunging forward. ""That’s my wife! That’s my daughter!""
Marcus didn't retreat an inch. When Alexander attempted to shove past him, Marcus caught his wrist in an iron grip, twisting it downward with fluid, military precision until Alexander dropped to his knees with a sharp cry of agony.
""She stopped being your wife the moment you humiliated her for your mistress,"" Marcus whispered, his voice dangerously low, vibrating with pure venom. ""And she is in active labor right now. If you utter one more sound that stresses her or that child, Alexander, I will not wait for the federal marshals to take you down. I will break you into pieces myself.""
Four Lake Forest police officers, guns drawn, bounded up the stairs, followed closely by Marcus’s private obstetric team.
""Alexander Moretti! Hands behind your back! Do not move!"" the lead officer barked.
Alexander looked up from the floor, his face twisted in a pathetic mixture of rage, defeat, and absolute despair. As the officers pinned him to the floor and clicked the cold steel handcuffs around his wrists, the bedroom door opened wider, and the medical team rushed past him toward me.
Alexander’s eyes met mine through the doorway. For a brief second, the reality of what he had destroyed finally pierced through his madness. He saw the medical monitors, he heard my labored breathing, and he saw Marcus Kane standing over me like a guardian angel.
""Claire..."" Alexander choked out, tears mixing with the rain and blood on his cheeks. ""Claire, please... don't do this...""
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""Take him away,"" I told the officers, never taking my eyes off Marcus.
As they dragged Alexander backward down the stairs, screaming into the empty halls, Marcus was already back at my side, taking my hand in his, holding it tightly as the first true wave of labor took hold.
