Chapter 6 - The Turning PointOn the monitor, the Vanguard commander’s jaw tightened. “You’re bluffing. You’re nine months—you’re heavily pregnant, standing in a basement, about to go into labor. You wouldn't risk your child’s life for a federal file.”
“Try me,” Serena challenged, stepping forward until she was inches from the camera lens. A sharp contraction suddenly seized her lower body, so intense that her breath caught and her knuckles turned white against the console. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she refused to show weakness.
Detective Miller noticed immediately, stepping closer and steadying her elbow. “Serena... are you okay? Your contractions are coming too close together.”
“I’m fine,” she breathed through the pain, gritting her teeth.
Matthias stared at her from the corner, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and sudden, pathetic realization. “Serena... please. The baby... think of our baby. Give them the drive.”
“I am thinking of my baby,” Serena shot back, her voice shaking with fury. “I’m making sure she grows up in a world where men like you don't get to buy off justice, abandon their families, and treat human lives as collateral damage.”
Before the Vanguard commander on screen could issue a new command, a loud, metallic battering ram echoed from the upper service corridors.
THUD. THUD. CRASH.
Flashes of blue and red light suddenly painted the smoky windows of the basement utility door. Through the static-filled radio on Detective Miller’s shoulder, a booming voice cut through:
“Greenwich SWAT! Perimeter breached! Vanguard units are falling back at the north gate! Secure the basement levels!”
The man on the monitor cursed violently, reaching toward his console to cut the feed. “This isn't over, Mrs. Dre!”
With a sharp hiss, the screen went black.
The emergency klaxons abruptly stopped whining. The heavy security shutters upstairs groaned as hydraulic systems reversed, letting in the cool, crisp light of dawn filtering through the estate's shattered windows.
Serena let out a long, shuddering breath, her knees finally buckling under the exhaustion. Detective Miller and the marshal caught her before she hit the floor, lowering her gently onto a cushioned utility chair.
“Paramedics are coming down the stairs now,” Miller assured her urgently, pressing his radio to his mouth. “We need an obstetric team down here immediately!”
As medical personnel flooded into the ruined server room with stretchers and oxygen tanks, Matthias was hauled to his feet in handcuffs by two federal agents, his designer suit torn and stained with soot. As they dragged him past her chair, Matthias paused, looking down at Serena with a broken, pathetic expression.
“Serena... I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “For everything.”
May you like
Serena didn't even look at him. She turned her head away, her focus entirely fixed on the medics surrounding her.
“Take him out of my sight,” she commanded quietly.
