Chapter 4 - The Lockdown of Moretti Manor
"Julian," I repeated quietly.
My thirty-six-year-old first cousin. The Managing Director of Moretti Harbor Logistics and the man who sat to my left at every family council assembly.
Marcus stepped to the master security console on the wall, slamming down the red emergency override switch.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.
The heavy, steel-reinforced ballistic shutters slammed shut across all forty-four windows of the estate in a synchronized, hydraulic roar. The iron perimeter gates three hundred yards down the driveway locked under five tons of magnetic pressure.
"The manor is in Level-One pressurized lockdown, Boss," Marcus reported. "Nobody enters, nobody leaves, and all cellular frequencies within a three-mile radius are routed through our encrypted interceptor."
I turned to Elena, who stood holding Nora, her hazel eyes wide with fierce maternal protection.
"Elena," I said, my voice softening.
"Yes, Mr. Moretti?"
"Take Sophie and the triplets to my private panic vault behind the library," I instructed. "Marcus has two Black Watch operators stationed inside with medical supplies, food, and beds. No one breaches that vault without my biometric voice authorization."
Elena didn't hesitate. She didn't panic. She nodded with absolute, unyielding resolve.
"I will protect them with my life, Mr. Moretti," Elena said.
Sophie looked up at me with her bright, innocent brown eyes, holding her cloth doll. "The babies are safe now, right, Mr. Adrien?"
I reached down with my calloused hand, gently patting Sophie's head.
"The babies are safe because of you, Sophie," I whispered. "And now, I am going to make sure the monsters never come back."
Elena ushered the four children into the private elevator corridor.
May you like
I turned back to Vivian Vance, my expression hardening into solid, impenetrable obsidian.
"Marcus," I commanded. "Connect the frequency remote to our cyber-intelligence deck. Let's find out where Julian is waiting for the news."
