Chapter 52: The Broken Sanctuary
A jagged chunk of decorative granite, torn from the frozen retaining wall along the front driveway, slammed into the lower sash of the tall drawing room bay window. The double paned glass, already brittle from hours of exposure to fifty below zero gusts, detonated inward with a concussive c***k that ripped through the dead silence of the ground floor.
Hundreds of crystalline shards exploded across the frozen Persian rug, scattering over the cold charcoal remains of the ruined dining table and pinging sharply against the brass legs of the dead candelabras.
The concussive boom jolted Harlan Sterling from the fitful stupor that had clouded his mind for hours. His eyes snapped wide in the murky darkness, his pulse hammering against his temples as the sudden
