Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
The attack came during a thunderstorm.
At 11:43 p.m., the estate's main power supply failed.
Backup generators activated.
Then the security cameras along the eastern wall went dark.
Marco Santini, Lorenzo's security chief, immediately ordered the estate locked down.
Elena was upstairs with Mia.
The little girl had fallen asleep beside Biscuit.
When the lights flickered, Elena sat upright.
Something was wrong.
She could hear footsteps in the corridor.
Too many.
Too fast.
Her phone rang.
Lorenzo.
“Lock your door.”
Her heart stopped.
“What's happening?”
“Security breach. Stay inside until Marco reaches you.”
Elena locked the door.
Then pushed a chair beneath the handle.
Mia woke.
“Mama?”
Elena knelt beside the bed.
“Sweetheart, we're going to play a quiet game.”
Mia blinked.
“What game?”
“Hide-and-seek.”
The child smiled sleepily.
“Okay.”
Elena carried her into the wardrobe.
Biscuit followed.
Downstairs, Lorenzo stood beside Marco in the security office.
Three unidentified men had entered through a maintenance access point.
The guards had intercepted two.
The third was missing.
Lorenzo looked at the floor plan.
“Elena's room.”
Marco nodded.
“We're moving.”
Upstairs, Elena heard the doorknob turn.
Then a quiet voice.
“Signora Bellini?”
She froze.
“We're here to take you somewhere safe.”
Elena pressed Mia against her chest.
The voice continued.
“Vittorio only wants to talk.”
Biscuit growled.
A small, frightened sound.
But enough.
The man outside stopped.
Then struck the door.
Elena covered Mia's ears.
The chair scraped across the floor.
Another blow.
Then footsteps thundered down the hallway.
A man's voice shouted.
“Security! Step away from the door!”
There was a struggle.
A crash.
Then silence.
“Signora Bellini?”
Marco's voice.
Elena didn't move.
“It's Marco. Lorenzo is here.”
She opened the wardrobe.
Then the door.
Lorenzo stood in the hallway.
His shirt was torn at the shoulder.
A small cut marked his cheek.
But he was alive.
Mia ran toward him.
“Uncle Lorenzo!”
He caught her.
Held her tightly.
And closed his eyes.
Elena began shaking.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
He stepped closer.
“You're safe.”
She began crying.
He pulled her gently into his arms.
For a long moment, the three of them stood together in the hallway.
Later, investigators confirmed that the intruders had been hired to abduct Elena and Mia.
One carried photographs of the child.
Another had a copy of the estate's staff schedule.
Lorenzo stared at the documents.
Someone inside the estate had helped them.
May you like
And that meant the danger was not outside his walls.
It was already living behind them.
