The second attack came faster than anyone expected, striking like lightning on a night when the spring rain hammered the compound windows in relentless sheets.
A month had passed since the first breach, and the estate had settled into a tense normalcy.
Nikolai had been away more often—meetings in the city, leads on the rivals who’d dared invade his home.
He’d left that evening with a kiss to her forehead and a quiet “Be good. I will be back late.”
Lila had spent the hours in the library—her favorite room now, with its leather-bound books and oversized sofa facing the fireplace.
She’d curled up with a volume of Russian poetry—trying to decipher the Cyrillic, tracing the words with her finger.
The lights flickered once.
Then plunged into darkness.
Backup generators hummed to life sec
