Chapter 4 - The Siege of the Estate
The sound of breaking glass echoed through the mansion. The drama of a broken marriage instantly shifted into a fight for survival.
"They're inside," Julian whispered, his face turning pale.
Edward’s survival instincts, honed by years of managing a global empire under intense pressure, kicked in. He forgot his broken legs. He forgot his broken heart. All that mattered was the little girl upstairs.
"Clara, get to Lily. Now!" Edward ordered, his voice commanding and steady. "Julian, if you want to prove you're her brother and not a parasite, you help me get them into the panic room in the master closet."
Julian didn't hesitate. He nodded, rushing toward the stairs just as two men in dark hoodies entered the living room from the kitchen. One of them held a silenced pistol.
"Well, well. Look at the happy family," the taller man sneered, pointing the gun at Edward. "Where's the rest of the money, Mrs. Vance? Or should we start taking it out of your husband's remaining good limbs?"
Edward didn't flinch. He backed his wheelchair up slightly, positioning himself between the thugs and the staircase where Clara was frantically running up to get Lily.
"You want money? It's in the safe upstairs," Edward said calmly, raising his hands. "Take whatever you want. Just don't touch my family."
"We'll take the money, and we'll take the kid as collateral until the wire transfer clears," the shorter thug said, moving toward the stairs.
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Overcome with brotherly protectiveness, Julian threw himself from the top of the stairs onto the shorter thug, sending them both crashing to the floor. A brutal struggle ensued. The taller thug aimed his gun at Julian, but Edward, using all the upper-body strength he had built up in therapy, rammed his heavy motorized wheelchair directly into the thug's knees.
The man screamed in pain as his legs buckled, the gun flying out of his hand and skidding across the hardwood floor.
