The Heartless Butler Threw The Freezing Maid Into A Deadly Christmas Blizzard—Until The Feared Mafia Billionaire Found Her Dying In The Snow And Demanded Brutal Retribution

The retribution Nicholas promised came swiftly, but Lucian Vane was not a man to go down without a desperate, bloody fight.

In late February, another massive winter gale swept over the estate, cloaking the mountains in dense fog and heavy sleet. It was the perfect cover for a desperate enemy with nothing left to lose.

At two o'clock in the morning, the estate's silent alarms tripped across the western perimeter.

Emily woke instantly to the sound of heavy, rapid footsteps outside her bedroom door. Before she could climb out of bed, the door flew open, and Nicholas stepped inside.

He was fully dressed in tactical black gear, a heavy customized assault rifle slung over his shoulder and two sidearms strapped to his chest. His face was cold, focused, and terrifyingly lethal.

"Nicholas!" Emily gasped, pulling her robe around her shoulders. "What's happening?"

"Vane bypassed the outer sensors with an EMP device," Nicholas said rapidly, crossing the room and pulling her to her feet. "He brought twenty mercenaries through the western woods. They're trying to breach the lower levels."

The sound of distant, muffled gunfire echoed from the ground floor, followed by the deep, resonant boom of a breaching charge blowing open the terrace doors.

"We need to get you to the panic room in the sub-basement," Nicholas said, wrapping a firm arm around her waist and guiding her out into the dimly lit hallway.

Roman and four heavily armed guards formed a defensive diamond around them as they moved quickly toward the service elevator.

"Boss!" Roman shouted over the echoing crack of automatic weapon fire below. "Vane’s men cut the main power grid! The secondary generators are holding, but they've surrounded the east wing!"

"Hold the grand staircase," Nicholas commanded with lethal precision. "Do not let a single one of them reach the second floor. Shoot to kill."

"Understood!" Roman and the guards peeled off toward the balcony, their weapons barking in rapid succession as they engaged the intruders descending upon the foyer.

Nicholas led Emily down the narrow, reinforced stairwell leading to the fortified bunker beneath the estate. But just as they reached the heavy steel vault door at the base of the stairs, the emergency lights flickered and died, plunging the corridor into pitch blackness.

A sharp metallic click echoed from the shadows behind them.

"Going somewhere, Nicholas?"

The grating, sneering voice of Lucian Vane echoed through the narrow hallway.

The backup emergency red lights flickered on, bathing the concrete corridor in a sinister crimson glow. Standing fifteen feet away was Lucian Vane, holding a suppressed automatic pistol, accompanied by his massive head of security.

Nicholas reacted with blinding speed. He shoved Emily behind his broad frame, shielding her completely against the steel wall, and leveled his sidearm directly at Lucian's chest.

"You made a mistake coming here, Lucian," Nicholas growled, his voice vibrating with lethal intent.

"Did I?" Lucian laughed, his eyes wild with desperate madness. "Your empire is crumbling, Grimm! The council is turning against you! And once I put a bullet in your skull and take this little orphan girl off your hands, the entire city belongs to the Vane family!"