Chapter 6 - The Siege of Lakeview
The wail of police sirens echoed down the long, winding driveway, sending an instant shockwave of panic through Victoria’s mercenary team.
"Boss! We have three minutes max!" the head guard shouted, raising his pistol. "We need to clear out now!"
"Kill them!" Victoria screamed, her poise completely shattering into frantic rage. "Do it now!"
"No way, lady! I’m not taking a capital murder charge for your cash!" The guard lowered his gun, turned on his heel, and sprinted into the dark woods bordering the property, his partner following right behind him.
Victoria was left standing alone in the bright glaring headlights of the SUV, her silver remote clutching tightly in her hand.
"You ruined everything!" she shrieked, aiming the remote at the heavy iron entrance gate. She slammed her thumb onto the lock button, causing the massive iron gates to swing shut and fuse electronically, blocking the driveway from the approaching police cruisers.
David didn't wait. He grabbed Emma and Sophia, rushing toward the stone gatehouse near the perimeter wall. "Inside! Now!"
They slammed the heavy oak door of the gatehouse just as Victoria fired a wild shot from a small handgun she pulled from her coat. The bullet splintered the wood near the frame.
Inside the small stone room, David barred the door with a heavy wooden beam. Through the thick glass window, he watched the State Police cruisers come to a screeching halt outside the locked iron gates. Officers leapt out with flashlights and weapons drawn, shouting through megaphones for the gates to be opened.
Victoria, realizing she was trapped inside the perimeter with her victims, sprinted toward the main mansion, keycard in hand.
"Papa, she’s going inside!" Emma cried out. "She’s going to hide!"
"She’s not hiding," David said, his eyes darkening as he saw smoke beginning to rise from the second-story windows of the main house. "She’s setting the fire."
He looked down at his daughters. Sophia was pale, shivering violently from exhaustion and shock, while Emma was bruised from Victoria's kick.
"Listen to me," David said, crouching down to their eye level. "I have to stop her from destroying the evidence down in that cellar, or she’ll get away with what she did to Sophia. Can you two stay here until the police break through the gate?"
"No, Papa! Don't go back!" Sophia pleaded, clutching his coat. "She’s dangerous!"
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David kissed Sophia’s forehead, then Emma’s. "I lost you once, Sophia. I am never going to let anyone hurt either of you again. Stay inside, bar the latch, and don't open this door for anyone except the men in uniform."
Before they could object further, David unlatched the back door of the gatehouse and sprinted through the rose garden, charging straight into the burning mansion after the woman who had stolen three years of his life.
