Chapter 5 - The Trap at Blackwood Manor
Winter arrived in New York, wrapping the city in a blanket of white snow and icy winds.
Despite the resolution of the public Caldwell scandal, quiet undercurrents of danger still swirled beneath the surface. Richard Caldwell, humiliated and facing bankruptcy after his firm’s stock plummeted, had allied himself with a rogue faction of disgruntled DeLuca Enterprises shareholders who wanted to strip Victor of his voting control over the company.
One snowy Tuesday evening, Victor was called away to an urgent emergency board meeting in Manhattan.
He left six armored security guards at his Greenwich estate, where I was staying for the week, instructing me to remain inside until he returned.
"I will be back by midnight, Anna," Victor promised, kissing my lips deeply before stepping into his Maybach. "Stay inside. Keep Marco close."
By 10:00 PM, the snowstorm outside had turned into a blizzard. High winds howled through the thick pine trees surrounding Blackwood Manor, battering the stone walls.
I was sitting in the grand library, reading a book near the roaring stone fireplace, when the lights suddenly flickered once, twice, and died completely.
The hum of the estate’s heating system vanished, leaving the library illuminated only by the orange glow of the fireplace.
I stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Marco?" I called out toward the hallway.
There was no answer.
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the conservatory near the back of the house shattered with a deafening CRASH!
Cold winter wind rushed into the house, carrying the crunch of heavy boots on broken glass.
I backed away toward the desk, my hands trembling as I reached into my bag for my phone. Before I could dial Victor’s number, two men in black coats burst into the library.
Behind them stepped Richard Caldwell.
He looked unhinged. His hair was messy, his eyes bloodshot, his coat covered in snow. In his right hand, he held a dark silver revolver.
"Miss Martinez," Richard sneered, his voice raspy and trembling with desperate rage. "We meet again."
"Richard," I gasped, backing against the mahogany desk. "Where are the guards?!"
"Your little guards are sleeping outside in the snow," Richard laughed bitterly, taking a step toward me, raising the gun. "Do you have any idea what you and DeLuca did to me?! My company is bankrupt! My son is disgraced! I have nothing left!"
"You did that to yourselves!" I shouted, keeping my voice steady despite the terror gripping my chest. "Ethan attacked me! You tried to bribe me!"
"Shut up!" Richard screamed, his face contorting in rage. "DeLuca thinks he's a god in this city! He thinks he can destroy my family and walk away smiling with his little waitress trophy!"
Richard cocked the hammer of the revolver.
"When Victor comes home tonight and finds you dead on his library floor," Richard whispered maliciously, "he will know what it feels like to lose everything."
My mind raced. I looked at the heavy brass lamp sitting on the corner of the desk, then at the roaring fireplace beside me.
"Victor won't break, Richard," I said, leaning back slightly against the desk, my fingers slipping around the solid base of the heavy brass lamp. "He will hunt you down to the ends of the earth."
"He won't get the chance!" Richard snarled, stepping forward into striking distance!
In that split second, I didn't wait to be a victim.
I grabbed the heavy brass lamp and swung it with all my strength straight into Richard Caldwell’s arm!
CLANG!
The lamp struck his wrist violently! Richard cried out in shock, dropping the revolver onto the rug!
"You bitch!" the second man yelled, lunging forward to grab me!
I grabbed a glowing, burning log from the fireplace using the iron tongs beside the hearth and shoved it directly into the second man's chest! His coat caught fire instantly, and he stumbled back, screaming and flailing!
Richard scrambled across the floor, reaching for the dropped gun!
I sprinted toward the library doors, tearing out into the grand hallway into the freezing darkness!
"Get her!" Richard screamed from behind me!
I ran toward the front foyer, my heart pounding in my ears, but as I reached the marble staircase, the heavy front doors were suddenly breached!
Three figures burst through the snow!
I froze in absolute terror, believing more attackers had arrived.
Then a powerful, familiar voice echoed through the dark foyer like a clap of thunder.
"ANNA!"
It was Victor.
He was dressed in a rain-soaked black wool coat, holding a silenced weapon, his face contorted in a terrifying, demonic rage. Behind him stood six heavily armed private security tactical officers!
"Victor!" I sobbed, throwing myself down the stairs into his arms.
Victor caught me in mid-air, wrapping his massive, powerful arms around me, pulling me hard against his chest, shielding my body completely with his own frame.
"Are you hurt?! Did they touch you?!" Victor roared, his pale gray eyes wild with panic and fury as his hands checked my face and arms.
"I'm okay! I'm okay!" I gasped into his chest. "Richard Caldwell is in the library! He has a gun!"
Victor’s face transformed into something terrifyingly dark.
He handed me to his chief security officer. "Keep her behind the armored vehicle."
"Victor, no!" I cried out.
Victor didn't listen. He turned, stepping back into the darkened mansion like an apex predator returning to his hunting grounds.
Within thirty seconds, muffled gunshots echoed from the library, followed by heavy thuds and frantic screaming.
Three minutes later, the lights in the mansion flickered back on as the secondary generator kicked in.
Victor walked out of the library corridor. His suit coat was gone, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his hands covered in minor cuts. He walked smoothly, calmly, holding Richard Caldwell by his coat collar, dragging the bloody, sobbing man across the marble floor like a bag of trash before tossing him out onto the snowy front steps at the feet of the waiting state police officers.
"Take him away," Victor instructed the police chief coldly. "Charge him with attempted murder, armed burglary, and domestic terrorism. Ensure he never sees the light of day again."
The police officers handcuffed the weeping, broken Richard Caldwell and loaded him into a cruiser.
Victor turned back toward me.
The terrifying rage in his gray eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an overwhelming, profound tenderness as he walked over to where I stood shivering in the snow.
May you like
He wrapped his warm, dry coat around my shoulders, lifting me effortlessly into his arms, carrying me back into the warmth of the house.
"It's over, Anna," Victor whispered into my hair, his chest shaking as he held me tight. "It's over. No one will ever harm you again."
