For two hours my triplets screamed in pain, completely ignoring the doctors—until little Sophie pointed her cloth doll at the corner.

I stared at the leather briefcase resting on the hood of the wrecked sedan.

The cold winter wind howled through the ruined wrought-iron gates at the end of the driveway. Snow was gathering on the dead driver's shoulders, turning his dark coat white.

"He was running to me," I said, my voice barely audible over the wind.

"Dominic Falcone’s chief accountant," Marco confirmed, using his tactical light to inspect the dead man's face. "Name is Victor Rossi. He’s been handling Falcone’s money for fifteen years. If he had these ledgers, he had enough power to destroy the entire Falcone organization in one legal stroke."

"Which means Dominic Falcone knew Rossi was fleeing," I analyzed, connecting the pieces in my mind with terrifying speed. "Falcone knew Rossi was heading toward my estate to seek asylum."

I turned around, looking back at the massive, dark silhouette of my mansion standing against the winter sky.

"The ultrasonic device in the nursery..." I realized, my blood running cold again. "It wasn't meant to kill my children. It was meant to keep my entire security force, my focus, and my personal attention pinned on the second floor of the house for hours!"

"So we wouldn't notice Rossi approaching the perimeter," Marco added, his eyes widening. "Or... so we wouldn't notice who was following Rossi!"

Before Marco could finish his sentence, a high-pitched electronic chime echoed from Marco's tactical earpiece.

"Chief! Motion sensors triggered on the south ridge! We have multiple armed hostiles breaching the tree line!"

The dark forest surrounding the southern perimeter of my estate suddenly erupted in gunfire.

Tracer rounds cut through the falling snow, shattering the ground-floor windows of the estate's west wing. My security men immediately took cover behind the stone pillars of the portico, returning fire with disciplined, heavy bursts.

"They let Rossi run straight to us!" Marco yelled over the deafening roar of automatic weapons. "They used him as a decoy to draw out our perimeter guards! They’re hitting us with a full assault team!"

"Protect the house!" I commanded, raising my weapon and firing three controlled shots toward a dark figure advancing through the trees. "Fall back to the grand lobby!"

We retreated up the wide marble steps, taking cover behind the heavy oak double doors as bullets splintered the wood and shattered the glass fixtures in the foyer.

Inside, the house was dark, illuminated only by the flashing emergency lights.

"How many hostiles?" I asked Marco, reloading my weapon with a fresh magazine.

"At least twelve," Marco replied, checking his wrist monitor. "They’re using heavy body armor and tactical night vision. Boss, if they breach the main hall, they’ll cut off access to the sub-basement panic room!"

I thought of Theo, Miles, and Nora huddled in the dark steel vault below.