The Echoes of Obsidian Ridge

CHAPTER 6:

Before Julian could answer, a loud, metallic vibration resonated down through the concrete ceiling. The overhead LED lights flickered erratically, shifting from crisp white to a pulsing, deep emergency red.

Julian immediately lunged for the security control console, activating a bank of closed-circuit video monitors wired to concealed cameras around the estate ground level.

On the screens, three matte-black SUVs were parked across the gravel driveway, their headlights cutting through the heavy mountain fog. Half a dozen figures wearing tactical body armor, helmet-mounted night-vision gear, and suppressed carbines moved with military precision across the front porch.

“They’re inside the house,” Julian whispered, watching a monitor show an operative kicking open the study door above. “They aren’t police or federal agents. They have no insignias.”

“They’re The Citadel’s clean-up crew,” Maya said, wiping her face with her sleeve as her emotional shock instantly turned into cold survival adrenaline. She grabbed a high-capacity encrypted flash drive plugged into the main server rack and initiated a hard wipe of the desktop mainframes. “My parents triggered an alarm when they fled. They knew these men would come for the servers.”

Above them, a muffled boom shook the foundation—the operatives were breaching the study desk with explosive charges to force the hydraulic floor trapdoor open.

“We have less than ninety seconds before they drop down those stairs,” Julian said, grabbing his flashlight and pulling Maya away from the main console. “Where does that rear steel door lead?”