Chapter 111 Triple Threat
Rowan
The silence between us is still thick when it happens.
A sharp, piercing alarm cuts through the house.
Loud. Violent. Unmistakable.
Violet flinches instantly, her entire body going rigid in my arms.
“What the hell was that?” she breathes.
I don’t answer. I already know.
The security system. And it doesn’t trip without a reason.
My hand tightens around her wrist. “Move,” I snap.
There’s no hesitation this time. I pull her with me, fast, back down the hallway and into the kitchen where the others are still gathered. The alarm is blaring now, echoing through the walls, flashing red lights pulsing along the security panels embedded in the house.
Camille jumps out of her chair. “What’s happening?!”
Theo is already on his feet, adrenaline replacing the sleep still clinging to him. “Rowan?”
I don’t waste time answering. I move straight to the control panel mounted into the wall and slam my hand against it, pulling up the live feeds from every camera on the property.
The screens flicker. Then stabilize.
Driveway. Clear.
Front gate. Closed.
Perimeter fence... My eyes narrow. “Shit.”
Theo steps closer. “What?”
I zoom in. The fence line on the east side of the property is lit by motion sensors.
One section is bent. Cut. Clean through.
Camille’s voice is tight now. “That wasn’t like that before...”
“No,” I say flatly. “It wasn’t.”
Violet’s grip tightens on my arm. “Rowan…”
I switch feeds.
Backyard. Nothing.
Patio. Nothing.
Side entrance... Movement. Fast. A shadow slips across the edge of the frame.
I swear under my breath, "We've got to move. Someone's inside the perimeter."
Everything in me snaps into place.
Cold. Controlled. Immediate.
I grab my phone off the table and call Devin once more.
He answers on the first ring. “What’s happening?”
“They’re inside,” I say. “Call the police. Now.”
There’s no hesitation. “I’m on it.”
“Record everything,” I add. “Every feed. Every second.”
“Already doing it.”
I end the call. Then I turn. “Theo,” I say sharply.
He’s already moving. “Yeah.”
“Get Camille.”
Violet is still pressed close to my side, her breathing uneven, fear finally breaking through whatever control she had left.
“Rowan…” she whispers.
I don’t let her spiral.
“Move.”
I pull her with me toward the staircase.
Fast.
No hesitation.
No room for questions.
Footsteps echo behind us as Theo ushers Camille forward, staying just behind us as we take the stairs two at a time.
The house feels different now.
Not safe. Not controlled. Hunted.
We reach the top landing and I don’t slow down. I move straight down the hallway toward the far wall where a large framed painting hangs.
Violet stumbles slightly beside me. “What are we doing—”
“Safe room,” I cut in.
I press my hand against the side of the frame.
Click.
The painting shifts. Then slides open. Revealing a reinforced steel door hidden behind it.
Camille stops short. “…you have a hidden panic room?”
“Yes.”
Theo mutters, “Of course he does.”
I punch in the code. The door unlocks with a heavy mechanical sound.
“Inside,” I order.
Violet hesitates for half a second. I don’t give her time to think. My hand presses to her back, guiding her forward.
“Now.”
She moves.
Theo follows, pulling Camille in with him.
I step in last and slam the door shut behind us.
The lock engages instantly.
The door seals behind us with a heavy, final sound that seems to echo longer than it should.
For a moment, no one speaks.
The safe room is small.
Smaller than people would expect for a house like this.
It’s not meant for comfort. It’s meant for survival.
The walls are reinforced steel, cold and unforgiving, with only a single mounted panel in the far corner displaying a handful of camera feeds. Not all of them, just the essentials. Hallways. Entry points. Exterior access points. Enough to see movement, not enough to feel in control.
That realization settles in my chest like a stone.
In the opposite corner, there’s a neatly stacked supply area, blankets folded tightly, a few duffel bags, canned food lined up in rows, and large jugs of filtered water.
Minimal. Efficient. Calculated.
Designed to last a week.
For one person. Maybe two.
Not four. Not like this. With all of us inside, it’ll last two days. Three if we stretch it.
No one says it out loud. But I know they’re all thinking it.
Camille’s eyes flick toward the supplies, then back to me. Theo notices it too, his jaw tightening slightly as he takes in the space.
Violet is quiet. Too quiet. Her hand is still gripping my shirt like she hasn’t realized she’s doing it.
I step toward the monitor, my eyes scanning the limited feeds.
Front hallway. Empty.
Kitchen. Still.
Back entrance. Nothing.
The feeds feel… insufficient. Incomplete.
For the first time in a long time... I don’t have full visibility.
And I hate it.
My jaw tightens as a thought pushes through.
My office was compromised. Now my home.
What the hell is going on?
Theo exhales slowly behind me. “You’re telling me someone got through your perimeter, into your house, and we don’t know who?”
Violet’s grip on my shirt tightens.
“It has to be Calder,” she says, her voice low but certain. There’s fear there... but underneath it, something sharper. Anger. “He’s the only one stupid enough to do something like this.”
Camille nods immediately, arms wrapped around herself as she stares at the screens. “Yeah… no, this isn’t random. There’s no way this is random. Not with everything we just uncovered.”
Theo drags a hand down his face, pacing once in the tight space before turning back to me. “We need a team here. Around the clock. 24/7. No gaps. No blind spots. Someone always watching the feeds.”
My jaw tightens.
“I already have security.”
Theo gives me a look. “Clearly not enough.”
“I had a day team,” I snap, the words sharper than I intend. “Because of Calder. Because of the situation. Once this house locks down, no one is supposed to get in. That’s the entire point of the system.”
Theo stills slightly. Then his expression shifts. Not frustration. Realization.
“…Rowan.”
I don’t like that tone. “What?”
He gestures toward the screen, toward the broken fence line. “That section,” he says slowly. “That’s supposed to be electrified, right?”
“Yes.”
“And it wasn’t.”
My chest goes tight.
Theo’s eyes lock onto mine.
“Which means one of two things,” he continues. “Either someone tampered with that section of the fence specifically… or—”
He doesn’t finish. He doesn’t have to.
My mind already fills in the rest.
“—or the entire system wasn’t active,” I finish coldly.
Compromised.
Not just my office. Not just the police department. My house. My security. My people.
Something inside me snaps into place, and fractures at the same time.
Because that means this wasn’t luck. This wasn’t chance. This was planned. Deliberate.
Anger slowly seeps inside of me.