Chapter 7 - The Ambush at the Nursery
Ethan sprinted up the carpeted stairs three steps at a time, ignoring Victoria's desperate screams from the main foyer below.
He reached the second-floor landing just as the master bedroom door was kicked violently off its heavy wooden frame.
Inside the dark nursery, a figure dressed in full night-vision gear was towering over a motionless Clara lying on the rug.
The intruder had one hand inside the baby's crib, unstrapping the infant from his white monitoring blanket.
"Get away from him!" Ethan screamed, firing two quick shots into the wall right beside the intruder's head.
The loud gunshots echoed like thunderclaps inside the room, muzzle flashes momentarily blinding the dark space.
The intruder spun around with lightning speed, drawing a suppressed tactical pistol and returning fire twice.
A bullet grazed Ethan's left shoulder, tearing through his designer dress shirt and burning hot against his skin.
Ethan stumbled back into the doorframe, the impact knocking his breath out, but he held his grip firmly on his handgun.
He fired three continuous rounds through the darkness, forcing the intruder to dive behind the heavy nursery armchair.
"You're out of your depth, Vance!" a deep, electronically distorted voice mocked from behind the chair.
"That child belongs to the Syndicate! His very DNA is the key to three billion dollars in encrypted Swiss accounts!"
Ethan charged into the room, kicking the heavy armchair aside with all his strength, exposing the gunman's position.
The intruder lunged forward, grabbing Ethan's wrist and forcing his firearm toward the high plaster ceiling.
They crashed into the changing table, sending baby powder, silver rattle toys, and glass lotion bottles shattering across the floor.
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Ethan slammed his knee violently into the attacker's ribcage, hearing a satisfying crack sound through the darkness.
The attacker groaned, dropping his suppressed pistol, but swiftly drew a long combat knife from his tactical vest.
