Chapter 6: The Woman They Tried to Silence
Hunter had just finished feeding Leo when the first sign of danger appeared.
The nursery window overlooked the cliffs, where the morning fog rolled in from the Atlantic. It should have been peaceful.
Instead, Leo began to cry.
Not the weak cry of hunger.
A sharp, frightened cry.
Hunter instinctively looked toward the hallway.
Nothing.
Still...
The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Mrs. Whitmore entered carrying fresh blankets.
"You should get some rest, dear."
Hunter smiled faintly.
"I will after he falls asleep."
Before Eleanor could answer, the nursery lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the power went out.
The emergency generator should have activated within seconds.
It didn't.
The room fell into complete darkness.
Leo started screaming.
"Eleanor?" Hunter whispered.
No answer.
Then she heard it.
A soft click.
The nursery door slowly opened.
A man's voice came from the darkness.
"Miss Higgins."
"I wouldn't make a sound."
Hunter's heart pounded.
She pulled Leo against her chest.
"Who are you?"
A flashlight snapped on.
The narrow beam revealed a man dressed as an electrician.
His uniform carried the Rossi estate logo.
But Hunter had never seen him before.
He smiled.
"I'm here to solve a problem."
His right hand slipped into his toolbox.
It didn't come out holding pliers.
It came out holding a suppressed pistol.
Hunter's breath caught.
"You saved the wrong child."
He raised the weapon.
"And now you have to disappear."
Downstairs, Lorenzo was reviewing surveillance footage when every monitor in the security room suddenly went black.
Marco looked up.
"What the—"
An alarm erupted across the control panels.
CAMERA FAILURE – THIRD FLOOR
Lorenzo was already running.
Back inside the nursery, Hunter backed toward the far corner.
"There doesn't have to be violence," she pleaded.
The assassin laughed.
"You think this is about you?"
He nodded toward Leo.
"The boy was supposed to die three days ago."
Hunter tightened her hold on the baby.
"What did he ever do to you?"
"Nothing."
"He was born."
The answer chilled her.
The man took another step.
"Give me the child."
"No."
"I won't ask again."
Hunter glanced around desperately.
No weapons.
No escape.
Only one heavy brass lamp sat beside the rocking chair.
As the assassin lunged forward, she grabbed the lamp with both hands and swung with every ounce of strength grief had left inside her.
The metal crashed against his wrist.
The pistol flew across the room.
Leo cried louder.
The assassin roared in pain and grabbed Hunter by the throat.
She couldn't breathe.
His fingers tightened.
Her vision blurred.
Then—
BANG!
The nursery door exploded inward.
A single gunshot echoed through the mansion.
The assassin froze.
A dark stain spread across his shoulder.
Lorenzo Rossi stood in the doorway, smoke rising from the barrel of his pistol.
His eyes were colder than the Atlantic outside.
"You came into my house," he said quietly.
"You touched my son."
The wounded assassin smiled through clenched teeth.
"You still don't know who your real enemy is."
Before anyone could stop him, he bit down hard.
A hidden cyanide capsule cracked between his teeth.
Foam appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Within seconds...
He was dead.
Silence filled the nursery.
Hunter collapsed to her knees, still holding Leo.
Lorenzo rushed forward for the first time—not toward the assassin...
But toward Hunter and his son.
He looked at Hunter's bruised neck, then at Leo, who was clinging to her as if she were the only safe place left in the world.
Lorenzo slowly lowered his gun.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"From this moment on..."
"No one touches either of you."
But downstairs, Marco's phone vibrated.
The forensic team had finally finished analyzing the poison found in Leo's IV line.
The report contained one sentence that changed everything:
May you like
The compound was manufactured exclusively for a classified U.S. military research program... twenty-six years ago.
And someone connected to Hunter's past had access to it.
