Chapter 6 - The Secret Beneath
We huddled in the concrete panic room, the sound of muffled gunfire vibrating through the walls. Emma was sobbing into my sweater, clutching Mr. Rabbit.
I felt like I was losing my mind. This wasn't just an intruder; this was a war inside a house.
Minutes turned into hours. The gunfire finally ceased, followed by a heavy, oppressive silence.
Then, the keypad on the panic room beeped. The door swung open.
Alessandro stood there. He was bleeding from a gash on his forehead, his shirt ruined, his face pale. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were bright with a terrifying adrenaline.
“They’re gone,” he said.
I stood up, trembling. “Who were they? Why are they doing this?”
“Vance,” he spat, the name tasting like poison. “My partner. He’s been waiting for a moment of weakness for years. He thought the ‘disabled king’ was ready to be deposed.”
He looked at Emma. “He made a mistake.”
He reached out and took my hand, his grip surprisingly warm. “You’re staying tonight. The house isn’t safe for you to leave.”
May you like
“I have nowhere else to go, anyway,” I whispered.
He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time. “You do now.”
