Chapter 4 - The Midnight Invasion
"You absolute fool," I yelled, slamming my fist against the table. "Do you honestly think running away protects him? If they find out he exists, they will come for him whether you are there or not. Hannah is sitting in my living room completely shattered, thinking her husband hates their child. You are punishing an innocent woman and a beautiful baby boy because you are too afraid to face your own shadow!"
Caleb looked up, his eyes filled with a desperate conflict. Before he could answer, my cell phone buzzed violently in my pocket. It was the security application connected to the cameras at my house.
I pulled the phone out, and my blood turned completely to ice. Three black tactical vehicles had just pulled into my driveway. Heavily armed men wearing dark suits were stepping out into the pouring rain, moving with absolute military precision toward my front door. Inside the house, Hannah and my children were completely unprotected.
"They found us," I gasped, holding the phone up for Caleb to see. "They are at my house."
In a fraction of a second, the terrified, broken man vanished. The ruthless survival instincts our father had drilled into Caleb completely took over. He grabbed his hunting rifle, a heavy steel crowbar, and the keys to his truck.
"Get in," he roared, charging out the door.
We tore down the dirt road, the truck fishtailing wildly in the mud. I called the local police, screaming that armed men were breaking into my home, but they were at least twenty minutes away. We had exactly ten minutes to save our family.
When we reached my street, Caleb killed the headlights. We coasted to a stop two houses down. The front door of my house was smashed open. The syndicate men were already inside.
"Stay behind me," Caleb ordered, his face a mask of absolute lethal focus.
We slipped through the backyard, entering through the shattered glass of the patio door. The house was chaotic. Two men were aggressively searching the kitchen, overturning tables and smashing cabinets. From the upstairs bedroom, I heard Hannah screaming.
Caleb did not hesitate. He swung the heavy steel crowbar with terrifying force, incapacitating the first man instantly. He used the butt of his rifle to strike the second man in the jaw, dropping him to the floor. The heir of the syndicate was fighting back.
We sprinted up the stairs. The door to my bedroom was kicked open. A massive man in a tailored suit was holding Hannah by the arm, dragging her toward the hallway while another man stood over the bassinet, reaching his massive hands down toward crying little Leo.
"Get your hands off my son!" Caleb roared, his voice shaking the walls of the hallway.
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He leveled the hunting rifle directly at the man reaching for the baby. The men froze, turning to face Caleb. For a moment, the leader of the assault team stared at Caleb face, a flicker of recognition crossing his cold eyes. He knew exactly who he was looking at.
Caleb pulled the trigger. The deafening blast echoed through the house, shattering the upstairs window and dropping the man holding Hannah. The second man reached for his weapon, but Caleb crossed the room in two massive strides, slamming the rifle into his chest and pinning him to the floor.
