Chapter 6
THE MASKED INTRUDER IN THE WEST WING
The masked figure landed with catlike agility on the hardwood.
A sleek tactical jumpsuit hugged their slender frame.
A polished silver skull mask gleamed in the faint LED light.
Dr. Vance cried out, stumbling backward against the wall.
"Who is that? Is it Rosalyn?" the doctor panicked.
Bastian stepped in front of Mira and Evan instantly.
His fists clenched tight, ready for brutal physical combat.
"No," Bastian said, narrowing his eyes at the intruder.
"This is her accomplice."
The masked figure tilted their head with eerie amusement.
A muffled voice distorted by a voice-modulator spoke up.
"Bastian Calder."
"You thought you were the master of this estate."
"You thought your wealth could protect you from everything."
"You left a trail of ruined lives in your wake, Bastian."
"Now, the piper must be paid in blood."
The intruder drew a heavy-duty hunting knife from their belt.
The blade caught the faint moonlight from the high window.
Mira’s breath caught in her throat.
She scanned the corridor walls desperately in the dark.
There had to be another way around this blocked hallway.
"Dad, my chest feels heavy," Evan whimpered softly.
The poison was already beginning to take effect.
Lethargy and respiratory distress were setting in rapidly.
Bastian heard his son’s weak voice and snapped.
With a guttural roar, Bastian charged directly at the intruder.
He didn't wait for negotiations or warnings.
He closed the distance in a fraction of a second.
The masked figure sidestepped with surprising agility.
They swept their leg out in a low, vicious kick.
Bastian absorbed the blow against his thigh, grunting heavily.
He grabbed the intruder’s wrist before they could strike.
The hunting knife clattered loudly onto the wooden floor.
"Dr. Vance! Grab the knife!" Bastian shouted over the scuffle.
The doctor froze in sheer terror, paralyzed by fright.
He stared at the weapon as if it were a venomous snake.
Mira didn't hesitate for a single second.
She shoved Evan gently behind a heavy oak pillar.
She sprinted forward across the hallway floor.
She scooped up the heavy hunting knife before anyone else could.
The intruder noticed Mira’s sudden intervention.
They twisted out of Bastian’s grip with a vicious wrench.
They drove their elbow backward into Bastian’s ribs.
Bastian stumbled back, gasping for air.
The masked figure lunged straight toward Mira and Evan.
"Stay away from the boy!" Mira screamed at the top of her lungs.
She raised the hunting knife with both trembling hands.
She didn't know how to fight, but she knew how to protect.
The intruder stopped dead in their tracks, sneering beneath the mask.
"You think a lowly housemaid can stop us?" the modulator hissed.
Suddenly, old Bruno emerged from the shadows behind them.
Despite his injured leg, the German shepherd leaped forward.
He clamped his powerful jaws down on the intruder’s boot.
The masked figure shrieked in genuine pain and surprise.
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They fell off balance, crashing hard onto the floorboards.
[Cliffhanger: Bastian uses the distraction to rip the silver skull mask off the intruder’s face, revealing someone they all trusted implicitly.]
