Chapter 14 - THE LAST STAND ON THE STAIRS
Ethan’s heart seized. He didn't waste a second.
He sprinted out of the kitchen, vaulting over the broken pantry door, and bounded up the dark staircase three steps at a time.
The third intruder—the tall man with the heavy iron crowbar—stood at the top of the landing, his hand resting on the brass door handle of Noah and Lily’s bedroom. He had already kicked the secondary latch off the frame.
"GET AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN!" Ethan roared.
The intruder spun around, raising the iron crowbar over his head, and brought it down toward Ethan's head with murderous force.
Ethan didn't retreat. He lunged upward, catching the iron bar mid-air with his left hand, the cold metal digging viciously into his palm. Ignoring the pain, Ethan slammed his right fist into the man's ribcage, driving him backward into the hallway wall.
The heavy plaster cracked beneath the impact.
Ethan grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket, hoisted him off his feet with broad-shouldered strength, and hurled him down the steep staircase. The man tumbled wildly down the dark steps, crashing heavily against the hardwood floor at the bottom and lying still in the blue light of the living room windows.
Heavy silence fell over the house once more, broken only by the sound of the rain lashing against the roof and Ethan’s ragged, heavy breathing.
Ethan stood at the top of the stairs, his palm bleeding slightly from the iron bar, his broad chest heaving under his denim shirt.
The bedroom door clicked open an inch.
Seven-year-old Noah peeked out through the crack, holding his sister's pale-yellow dress hem in one hand and a wooden building block in his tiny fist, ready to throw it.
Noah’s eyes wide with tears, locked onto his father’s tall silhouette standing in the doorway.
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"Dad?" Noah choked out.
Ethan dropped the iron crowbar onto the carpet, dropped to his knees, and opened his arms. "I'm here, Noah. It's over. Nobody is ever coming into this house again."
