Chapter 6 - Lockdown
"Initiate full lockdown," I barked into the phone. "Nobody gets in or out. Arm every guard. Kill the exterior lights." I shoved the phone back into my pocket and grabbed Marisol by the shoulders. "What's happening?" she asked, panic finally lacing her voice. "We are under attack," I said, my voice dead serious. "Get the boys. Bring them to the panic room in the sub-basement. Now." She didn't argue. She didn't freeze. Her Bronx survival instincts kicked in immediately. She bolted upstairs. The estate plunged into darkness as Victor cut the main power, switching us to emergency red lighting. Sirens wailed in the distance. I grabbed the customized handgun from the safe in my office, loading a fresh magazine. When I reached the second floor, Marisol already had all three boys in the hallway. They were crying, terrified by the alarms and the red lights. "It's okay, ninos," Marisol was saying, her voice remarkably steady. "It's just a drill. Remember the pirate game we played? We're going to the secret treasure room." She carried Elian, held Mateo's hand, and ushered Leo forward. I covered their flank, my gun drawn, my eyes scanning the shadows. We made it down to the sub-basement. I punched the code into the steel door, and it slid open with a heavy hiss. I pushed them inside the reinforced steel room. It was stocked with food, water, monitors, and oxygen. "Stay here," I commanded. "Do not open this door for anyone except me or Victor. Understand?" "Julian, wait," Marisol said, stepping forward as the boys huddled on the cot. Tears were finally welling in her eyes. "You can't go out there. You have an army. Let them fight." "This is my house," I said, my voice cold with lethal intent. "Nobody threatens my family and lives to talk about it." "Please," she begged, grabbing my wrist. "Don't leave us." I looked at my three sons, shaking in the corner. I looked at the woman who had saved them. I realized then, with absolute clarity, that I could not live this life anymore. I could not bring violence to the doorstep of the people I loved. If I survived tonight, the Mercer crime family was finished. I pulled Marisol against me and kissed her. It was hard, desperate, and filled with everything I hadn't been able to say. She kissed me back, her hands gripping my shirt like a lifeline. When I pulled away, I rested my forehead against hers. "I will come back to you," I whispered. "I promise." I stepped out of the panic room and hit the button. The heavy steel door closed, locking away my heart, leaving me alone in the dark to do what I did best. Destroy my enemies.
