Chapter 4 - The Serpent's Strike
The next three days passed in a whirlwind of laughter, messy art projects, and quiet progress. Leo was slowly coming out of his shell. He was talking more, eating better, and even initiated a game of hide-and-seek with Lily through the grand corridors.
Dominic returned home earlier every evening, gradually shedding his terrifying exterior whenever he stepped through the front door. He began joining us for dinner—a stark contrast to his old habit of eating alone in his study.
On Thursday night, as the rain poured against the tall bay windows, Dominic sat on the plush rug in the living room while Lily meticulously placed sparkly pink hair clips into his dark, short hair. The sight of Boston's most feared mob boss patiently enduring a three-year-old’s makeover while reading a business report was so ridiculously heartwarming that I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"Don't you dare snap a photo of this, Isabella," Dominic muttered dryly, though his gray eyes held a distinct warmth.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Don Moretti," I teased, placing a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table.
Leo sat beside his father, leaning against Dominic’s massive arm, happily chewing on a cookie. For the first time, they looked like a real family. And to my utter surprise, I felt a deep, warm sense of belonging settling into my own heart—a feeling I hadn't experienced in years.
However, the cozy peace was violently shattered the very next afternoon.
It was Friday, around three o'clock. Dominic was away at a high-level meeting downtown. The sky was overcast, heavy with impending thunder. I was in the secondary kitchen preparing an afternoon snack for the kids while they played in the nearby sunroom.
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the patio slammed open.
Marco stumbled into the room, his face pale, holding his left shoulder. Blood was soaking through his dark suit jacket.
I gasped, dropping the plate of apples. "Marco! What happened?!"
"Lock... down..." Marco wheezed, collapsing against the island counter. "Falcone's men... they bypassed the main gate security. Someone fed them the codes from the inside. They're on the grounds!"
Terror seized my chest. "Where are the kids?!"
"In the sunroom—" Marco rasped out, pulling a heavy black handgun from his holster and pressing it into my hands. "Take this. Get them to the panic room behind the library! I'll buy you time!"
Before I could even process the weight of the steel weapon in my trembling hands, gunshots echoed from the front foyer—loud, deafening cracks that shattered the quiet of the estate. Shouts and heavy footsteps thundered down the hall.
"Go!" Marco yelled, turning back toward the main corridor despite his bleeding shoulder.
I shoved the gun into the waist of my apron, my instincts taking over. I sprinted into the sunroom. Leo and Lily were huddled together near a potted palm, their eyes wide with sheer terror.
"Mommy!" Lily cried out.
"Shh! Come here, both of you!" I whispered frantically, grabbing their hands and pulling them toward the hidden servant's passage behind the dining room.
The estate was a battleground. Shouting men, breaking glass, and gunfire echoed from every direction. The intruder alert sirens began to wail, a shrill, piercing noise that made the walls vibrate.
"Isabella! I'm scared!" Leo sobbed, stumbling as we rushed down the narrow wood-paneled hallway toward the library.
"I've got you, Leo! Just keep running!" I urged, holding Lily tight against my hip while dragging Leo with my other hand.
We reached the grand library. The panic room was hidden behind a giant bookcase on the far wall. I scrambled to pull the antique leather book that triggered the mechanism. The heavy oak paneling groaned, slowly sliding open to reveal a reinforced steel door.
"Inside! Quick!" I shoved the children into the small, lit room.
Just as I was about to step in behind them, a heavy hand grabbed my arm from behind, throwing me violently against the mahogany desk in the middle of the library.
I hit the wood hard, pain exploding in my ribs. I scrambled around, reaching for the gun in my apron.
A tall man in a dark tactical jacket stood over me. He had a sinister, razor-thin smile and cold, lifeless brown eyes. He held a silenced pistol pointed directly at my chest.
"Well, well," the man drawled, his voice thick with a heavy, crude accent. "Look what we have here. The Don's new nanny."
My breath hitched. As he shifted his grip on his weapon, his sleeve pulled back, exposing the back of his right hand.
Etched into the skin of his knuckles was a dark, coiled green snake.
My blood ran completely cold. The man with the snake tattoo. The assassin who had murdered Elena Moretti was standing right in front of me.
"Where are the kids, sweetheart?" the snake man sneered, stepping closer. "Make it easy on yourself. I only need the boy. Boss wants Dominic to suffer before we end him."
In the panic room behind me, I could hear Lily whimpering softly. Leo was dead silent.
I looked up at the killer, my hand slowly reaching around my back, clutching the cool steel of Marco's gun concealed beneath my apron.
"You're too late," I gasped, staring him dead in the eye, channeling every ounce of courage I possessed. "They aren't here."
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The killer's grin faded into a cold sneer. "Lying bitch." He raised his weapon toward my head.
Before he could pull the trigger, I yanked Marco's gun from my apron, aimed upward, and pulled the trigger with all my might.
