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Panic surged through my chest as I realized that by stepping foot inside this fortress of wealth, I had unknowingly led our dangerous enemies straight to the doorstep of my innocent children, setting off a ticking time bomb we might not survive…
Without warning, a sharp, metallic crash echoed from the hallway outside the master suite, shattering the fragile tension in the room and freezing us both in absolute terror. Alexander’s expression shifted instantly from vulnerable regret to cold, calculating panic as he whispered a single warning that made my heart leap directly into my throat. The guards downstairs had been compromised, and the shadowy figures from our shared past had finally found him—and they were walking straight toward this door.
I threw myself across the doorway just as the heavy wooden entrance began to slowly creak open, my maternal instincts screaming that I had to protect Ethan and Lily at any cost, even if it meant facing the monsters I thought I had escaped forever. In the dim light of the hallway, a heavily armed silhouette materialized in the shadows, and as the intruder stepped inside, I stared into the face of the man who had destroyed my life twenty years ago.
