Fire and Glass
The darkness swallowed everything.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then chaos erupted.
"Down!" Ethan barked, pulling Clara behind the marble counter as another gunshot shattered one of the front windows.
Damien dove toward the generator controls, shouting orders to the guards. Eleanor screamed from upstairs.
"Ethan!" Clara whispered, clutching his arm. "What's happening?"
He scanned the room, his voice tight. "They're here."
Outside, faint figures moved among the shadows — two at first, then four. Trained, silent, precise.
Victor's style.
The lights flickered back on — emergency power. Ethan crouched beside the door, motioning for Clara to stay hidden. His mind raced — this wasn't a random attack. This was planned.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, hitting the security override. Every camera flicked online — except one. The west corridor.
That was where Eleanor's room was.
"Damien!" he shouted. "The west wing!"
Damien was already moving, gun drawn.
Ethan turned to Clara. "Stay here. No matter what you hear."
"I'm not letting you go alone!" she cried.
He cupped her face for just a moment — rough, desperate, a promise and a goodbye all at once. "Please, Clara. Trust me."
Then he was gone.
---
The hallways echoed with the sound of running footsteps and distant gunfire. Clara pressed herself against the wall, her breath shallow.
Through the faint light of the chandeliers, she saw a shadow move — slow, deliberate.
"Aiden," she whispered.
He stepped into view, his lips curving into a half-smile. "You remember me."
Her pulse raced. "You shouldn't be here."
He tilted his head. "You sound like him."
"Aiden, don't—"
He cut her off with a sharp laugh. "Relax. I didn't come to hurt you. I came to finish what he started — and maybe give you a choice."
Clara stared, fear and fury mixing inside her. "A choice?"
"Leave him, Clara. Come with me. Ethan will burn everything he touches — including you."
She took a step back. "You don't understand him."
"Oh, I understand him perfectly." His smile faded. "And that's why he has to fall."
Before she could respond, Ethan appeared behind him — silent, lethal.
"Aiden," he said coldly. "Step away from her."
The smirk returned. "You're late."
Gunfire exploded again — shattering the fragile peace.
Clara ducked behind the wall as the two men faced off, the air between them heavy with old hatred.
"You think you can protect her?" Aiden sneered. "You can't even protect yourself."
Ethan fired — a warning shot, inches from Aiden's arm.
"Next one won't miss," he said.
But Aiden only smiled wider. "You're right. It won't."
Then he dropped a small device to the ground. Smoke burst instantly, filling the hall with choking gray.
When the smoke cleared — he was gone.
---
Ethan stood motionless, chest heaving, fury burning in his veins.
Clara stepped toward him. "Ethan…?"
His hand trembled slightly as he lowered the gun. "This isn't over. He's not alone."
From outside, a distant explosion rocked the property — Victor's final message.
The sound of alarms filled the air.