Chapter 6 House of Cards

Another spectacle was playing out at the Harding family home as the emergency van bringing Sarah and the twin babies rushed across New York's chaos. Still weak following his recent brush with death, James Harding sat in his review surrounded by guides. On the screen, one could hear the breaking news on his son's detention and the following gang strife in the city. His campaign boss insisted, "We need to get ahead of this," even as he paced the room. "Make a claim restricting any connection to Alex's actions."

James's jaw clenched. Growled, "He's my son," yet his words lacked sincerity. Alex's treason weighed thick in the air. Before anyone could act, the house shook from an audible explosion. Windows cracked, and alarms blazed to life. " What the f--- did that mean?" James asked, getting to his feet. His head of safety came flying into the room, looking pale. "Sir, we are under focus here. Many prepared meetings are straying from the line. James Harding realized at that point that his neatly created world was collapsing around him.

Outside, the Harding house's well kept yards had become a catastrophe area. Sensing weakness, rival drug groups had swooped on the mansion like vultures after the Ghost had fallen. As it happened, Elena Vasquez, Alex's old right-hand lady, drove the charge. She had jumped all over the chance to ensure the realm for herself, and the Harding house was a clear prize. "Take all!" As her troops ravaged the grounds, Elena called to them. "I want every bit of proof and nasty little secret this family has kept!" Inside there was anarchy.

Dedicated workers combined to protect their managers and each other. Martha, the head housekeeper who had spent years working for the Hardings, corralled younger maids into a secret panic room. She urged, her words firm despite the terror in her eyes, "Quickly now." Martha made a choice as the final young woman slipped inside. She couldn't leave the family she had served for so long. Martha headed to James' study with startling speed for her age. Trapped in with his security crew, she found him inside looking like a caught animal.

Her voice cutting through the energy in the room, "Mr. Harding," she said. "An exit exists. a part your grandfather built during Prohibition. But we have to move quickly. James, staring at her, was briefly stunned by this insight. How much about his own family, his own house did he not know? James had to stand up to the truth of his position as they moved through the home evading gunshots and explosions. His child was a criminal genius; his political career was destroyed; today his very life was under doubt. When they got to the library, Martha slid a hidden switch behind a book. A part of the wall opened up showing a boring entrance. She suggested, "Go." "I'll hold off on them."

Before James could speak, though, a fresh voice came from the tumult. "I not think so, old lady," I replied. Elena walked into the room with guys armed on either side. Her eyes sparkled with win as she scanned the scene. Purged, "James Harding." Just the man I was looking for. James straightened himself, drawing all of his political ease. "Ms. I guess Vasquez." I fear you have caught me at the worst of times. Elena laughed with icy precision. "Goodness; this seems to be the right moment. You will forward to me whatever you know regarding your son's treatment. Then you will help me to take charge of it."

James answered coolly, "I'm afraid I not know what you're talking about." Elena glanced up without a grin. "No. Then perhaps a little idea is all together at that point. She nodded to one of her men, who usually understood Martha. "Stop! James yelled, his own control failing. "Let her wellenough alone." Elena asked, "then, at that point, start talking." Still, an outcry erupted in the entryway before James could reply. Discharges rang out, followed by screams of pain and shock.

A consider blast in line with the room, launched with destructive accuracy. In a whirl of moves Elena's men were disarmed and quiet. As the dust settled James faced a ghost from his past. The visitor said, "Hello, James," smiling sardonically and then cynically. "Seems as though you could profit from some help." James' jaw fell. Richard? But... you are dead. All of us thought about..." Before them James's long-lost brother Richard Harding seemed to be still living and very combat-ready. "Reports of my passing were quite overblown," Richard said jokingly. "Presently, will we perhaps get you out of here?" Elena was slightly startled by this turn of events but soon she calmed down.

"This is really sweet. a family get-together. But it has no impact. I currently rule this empire. Richard's eyes went stiff. "Ms. Vasquez, you seem confused. The complexity of the Harding legacy is amazing. He then tossed a little thing down on the ground. It set out a dazzling flash of light and thick smoke. When the air cleared, Richard, James, and Martha vanished into the secret passageway, Elena and her men were wheezing and confused. James' psyche reeled as they hurried into the dark hallway. "how, Richard?

Why today?

His brother's voice in the darkness sounded sad. "James, I have been hiding in the background for some time. giving the family almost perfect defense. But with Alex jailed and this attack, I had to come out. Emerging from the tube, they saw an ordinary SUV waiting in a gloomy subterranean garage. James thought back on the house he had lived in for decades as they drove far from the besieged home. Flares licked at the windows; the evening's sound of gunshots truly echoed. Feeling suddenly elderly and worn out, he asked, "Where are we going?" Richard's eyes in the rearview mirror locked with his own. "To the one surviving place we might find protection.

And to the one person who could help us save our family." Whose? James asked, though he knew the answer beforehand and was frightened. "Sarah," Richard said. "Everything now rests with your son's fiancée." James Harding understood that, from where he might be concerned, the world had finished as they traveled through the chaos packed streets of New York. His skillfully created life of force and political worries lay in wreckage. In any case, maybe he thought, looking at the sibling he had long believed dead, there was still expect redemption. Unknown to them, a tracker hummed softly beneath the bottom of their car.

In a van not too far behind, Elena Vasquez smiled sadly. "The game isn't finished at this point, Hardings," she said softly. "It's just starting." Rising dawn over a city in upheaval, three generations of Harding secrets raced toward an inevitable clash. Moreover, at the center, all things considered, a young mother fought for her life in a medical facility unaware that the fate of a realm now within her reach. The scene was ready for a battle that would rock New York to its real buildings. Nobody-not even Sarah, the Hardings, Elena, or anybody else-could have guessed who would be still standing when the dust fell.