Chapter 7 - The Breach
The lights in the Moretti estate flickered once, twice, and then died completely, plunging the grand villa into emergency crimson backup illumination.
Sirens wailed outside, mixing with the sharp, rhythmic pop-pop-pop of automatic gunfire echoing across the courtyards.
“Get down!” Alessandro roared, grabbing Isabella by the waist and hauling her behind the heavy mahogany desk alongside her trembling father.
“Marco! Status!” Alessandro shouted into his comms.
“They hit us with an armored transport at the main gate!” Marco’s voice barked back over heavy static and gunfire. “At least twenty heavily armed mercenaries in black tactical gear. They’re moving through the east wing—they’re heading straight for the study!”
Alessandro’s mind raced. They hadn't just come to assassinate him; they had come to wipe out everyone who knew the truth—Vittorio, Julian, and anyone else who could point back to the masterminds behind the conspiracy.
“Vittorio, take your daughter through the panic room behind the bookshelf,” Alessandro ordered, shoving the hidden wall panel open with his elbow.
“What about you?” Isabella cried, grabbing his jacket sleeve as the sound of boots marching down the hallway grew closer.
“I’m going to finish this,” Alessandro said, his dark eyes burning with a terrifying, absolute resolve. He pressed a quick, fierce kiss to her forehead. “Stay inside. Do not open that door for anyone except me or Marco.”
Before she could protest, he slammed the heavy wooden panel shut, locking them inside the secure vault.
Alessandro stepped out from behind the desk, racking the slide of his Sig Sauer as the oak doors of the study blew inward in a shower of splinters and smoke.
Two tactical operatives clad in black body armor and night-vision goggles surged through the threshold, weapons raised.
Alessandro didn't hesitate. He dropped into a combat crouch, firing two rapid shots through the smoke. The lead operative spun and crashed to the floor. The second mercenary returned fire, bullets chewing up the mahogany bookshelves and shattering crystal decanters into a million glittering shards.
Alessandro rolled behind a marble pillar, reloading in the dark.
Click. Lock.
May you like
He leaned out, double-tapping the second attacker in the chest plate, dropping him instantly.
More footsteps thundered down the hall. They were coming from all sides. The Moretti estate was a slaughterhouse, and Alessandro was standing right in the crosshairs.
