Chapter 9 - The Fire in the East Wing
“Sir! We have an intrusion at Sector 3!” Marcus shouted through his radio, pulling his weapon as alarm sirens began to wail across the estate.
Thick grey smoke began billowing out from the east wing of the mansion. Victoria’s hired accomplices had thrown incendiary devices through the lower windows, creating a massive distraction to draw the security team away from the main entrance.
Downstairs, guards rushed toward the fire exit with extinguishers, trying to contain the blaze before it reached the main living quarters.
Upstairs, inside the master suite, Emily had just locked the heavy reinforced door of the panic room behind the boys. The panic room was a state-of-the-art vault equipped with independent air filtration, food supplies, and live CCTV monitors showing every angle of the house.
On one of the screens, Emily saw the smoke filling the east hallway.
On another screen, her heart nearly stopped.
A figure dressed in black tactical gear and a dark hoodie was moving rapidly up the service staircase—the secret stairs that led directly from the basement to the master bedroom wing.
It was Victoria.
She was carrying a heavy iron crowbar and a canister of lighter fluid, her face twisted into a mask of unhinged, psychotic rage. She knew the layout of the mansion perfectly from her time living there.
“She’s inside the house,” Emily whispered in horror, looking at the sleeping triplets on the lounge sofa inside the vault.
Outside the panic room door, heavy footsteps echoed across the hardwood floor of the master bedroom.
THUMP.
An iron bar slammed against the reinforced steel door of the vault.
“EMILY!” Victoria’s voice shrieked through the external intercom, distorted and insane. “I know you’re in there with those little monsters! Open this door!”
The triplets woke up with a start, whimpering in fear as they recognized the voice.
Emily knelt beside them, pressing her finger to her lips. “Shh... stay behind the counter, boys. Miss Emily is right here.”
THUMP. THUMP.
“You destroyed my life!” Victoria screamed from the bedroom, splashing lighter fluid against the base of the vault door. “I was going to be a billionaire! I was going to have everything! And you ruined it for a maid’s salary!”
The smell of lighter fluid began to seep through the lower seam of the frame.
A spark ignited outside. Bright orange flames flickered across the bottom glass monitor as Victoria set the bedroom floor on fire, attempting to smoke them out or burn the wing to the ground.
Inside the panic room, the emergency fire suppression system activated, spraying high-pressure water from the ceiling, but the heat outside was rising rapidly.
Emily looked at the CCTV monitor. Richard was sprinting up the main grand staircase, fighting his way through the smoke, holding an iron fire extinguisher.
“I won't let you hurt them again!” Emily growled through gritted teeth.
She grabbed a heavy steel oxygen canister from the emergency supply rack, unlocked the vault door control panel, and pressed the override button.
The heavy steel door slid open with a loud pneumatic hiss.
Victoria turned around, holding a lit flare in her hand, her eyes wide and maniacal. “There you are, you little—”
Before Victoria could finish her sentence, Emily swung the heavy oxygen canister with all her strength, slamming it straight into Victoria’s chest.
Victoria gasped as the air was knocked completely out of her lungs. She stumbled backward, dropping the flare onto the wet carpet, and crashed into the master bedroom vanity mirror, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces.
Before Victoria could recover, Richard burst into the room through the smoke.
He didn't hesitate. He tackled Victoria to the floor, pinning her arms behind her back with overwhelming force as Marcus and two police officers rushed in behind him to secure the cuffs.
The fire on the carpet was quickly extinguished by the overhead sprinklers.
Victoria was dragged away, coughing, screaming, and sobbing hysterically, completely defeated, as the police led her out into the rainy afternoon.
Richard turned around, soaking wet from the sprinkler system, his face covered in soot, breathing heavily.
He looked across the room at Emily.
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She was standing near the vault door, holding the heavy iron canister, her hair damp, her eyes bright and fierce, protecting the entrance where his three sons were safe and sound.
Richard walked across the room, stopped in front of her, and without saying a single word, pulled her into a fierce, overwhelming embrace.
