Chapter 3 - The Echo of Gunfire
The seconds ticked by like lead weights dropping into an empty well.
Inside the bedroom, the silence was broken only by the faint, muffled hum of the HVAC system and the distant, rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock in the foyer. Down the hall, the first muted thump of a suppressed gunshot vibrated through the floorboards.
Thump. Thump-thump.
I pressed my back against the wall beside the bed, my heart hammering so violently against my ribs I thought it would shatter them. I couldn't just sit here and wait to see if Elias survived. My daughters were sleeping safely in the nursery down the corridor, oblivious to the war playing out in the halls of the penthouse.
Creeping across the floor, I ignored the throbbing pain in my back and slipped into the nursery.
The two tiny cribs sat side-by-side beneath a mobile of silver stars. Aria and Chloe—names I had whispered to them while hiding in our freezing apartment—were fast asleep, their tiny chests rising and falling in perfect unison. A middle-aged woman wearing a crisp gray uniform was standing by the changing table, her hands frozen mid-task as she stared wide-eyed toward the door.
"Ma'am," the nurse whispered, her voice shaking. "We need to move. Now."
"I know," I said, my voice steadying with a sudden, fierce resolve born of absolute desperation. I scooped Chloe up into my arms while the nurse gently lifted Aria. "We’re heading for the panic room."
As we reached the master closet, the sounds from the hallway escalated. The rhythmic thumping gave way to the sharp, terrifying chatter of automatic fire, followed by the sound of breaking glass and shouting voices.
Suddenly, the heavy bedroom door rattled under a brutal kick.
Bang!
The deadbolt held, but splintered wood sprayed across the hardwood floor.
"In! Get in!" I urged the nurse, shoving her and the babies through the hidden panel in the back of the walk-in closet just as the main bedroom door crashed open.
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I scrambled inside behind them, slamming the heavy steel panic room door shut and throwing the manual locking lever into place just as a heavy body slammed against the outer side of the partition.
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