Chapter 10 - Breach at the Gate
On the security monitor, the two black sedans had moved from the driveway.
They were parked sideways now, blocking the private access road entirely. But the real horror was happening at the front security perimeter. Two heavy-duty corporate utility trucks had rammed straight through the wrought-iron security gates, their hazard lights blinking a blinding amber against the dark pines.
Eight men in tactical gear stepped out of the back of the utility trucks, moving with military precision toward the main house, carrying heavy hydraulic breaching tools.
"They're not waiting for morning," I said, my voice dead calm.
Charlotte gripped my arm, her eyes wide with terror. "Ethan, we have to run. There's a back way—"
"There's no time to run," I interrupted, moving swiftly toward the secure steel-reinforced closet in the corner of the study. I punched the biometric override code, and the heavy door swung open, revealing an encrypted satellite communications relay and a rack of high-end digital broadcast hardware.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Uploading the file," I said, my fingers flying across the console. "Even if they tear this house down brick by brick, the moment they breach that front door, an automated dead-man switch will blast Bernard Carter's ledger across every major financial server on the planet. Julian Sterling won't just lose his company—he'll spend the rest of his life in a federal penitentiary."
Downstairs, a deafening CRASH echoed through the house.
The heavy oak front door had just been blown off its hinges by a hydraulic battering ram.
Heavy, tactical boots thudded against the hardwood floor of the entryway, moving rapidly toward the stairs.
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"Ethan..." Charlotte whispered, tears streaming down her face as she looked at me, her hand reaching out to touch my cheek. "Thank you. For remembering me. For everything."
"I never forgot you, Charlotte," I said, my eyes locking onto hers with fierce, unyielding intensity as heavy footsteps echoed down the upstairs hallway. "And we are walking out of here together."
