Chapter 5 - A Threat at the School Gate
Four days had passed since we moved into the penthouse.
Chloe was thriving. Dr. Vance, the pediatric surgeon, had spent two hours conducting comprehensive scans and tests at the private medical wing of Boston Children's. His verdict was optimistic: the surgery was scheduled for next Thursday, and he was confident that with modern minimally invasive techniques, Chloe would make a full recovery and live a completely normal, healthy life.
For the first time in five years, I felt like I could actually breathe without a weight crushing my lungs.
Because Chloe was feeling energetic and her breathing had stabilized with new medication, Dominic agreed to let her attend her private kindergarten orientation at St. Jude’s Academy—a secure, elite prep school where Dominic had enrolled her under a covered trust.
"She needs normalcy," I had argued with Dominic that morning over breakfast. "She’s five years old. She can't spend every day locked on the fifty-fifth floor."
Dominic had relented, but not without strict conditions. "Matteo and two men will accompany you. You do not leave their sight. If they tell you to move, you move without question."
The orientation went beautifully. Chloe made friends with two little girls, drew pictures of horses, and laughed as she played on the playground swings. Seeing the bright, joyful smile on her face was worth every terrifying moment of the last week.
At 2:00 p.m., the orientation ended. I held Chloe’s hand as we walked through the wrought-iron gates of the school toward the waiting black SUV idling at the curb. Matteo was walking three paces ahead of us, his sharp eyes scanning the quiet, tree-lined street.
Suddenly, a gray delivery van screeched around the corner, its tires smoking against the asphalt.
It didn't slow down. It angled directly toward the crosswalk where we were standing.
"Down!" Matteo roared.
In a split second, Matteo spun around, scooped Chloe into his left arm like a football, and shoved me hard behind the concrete pillar of the school’s stone archway.
The van didn't ram the gate. Instead, the side sliding door flew open.
Two men in black balaclavas leaned out, armed with suppressed semi-automatic pistols. They weren't shooting wildly—they fired three precise shots directly at Matteo, aiming to eliminate the bodyguard and grab us.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The bullets chipped violently into the stone pillar inches from my head, showering my hair with concrete dust. Chloe let out a terrified shriek, burying her face into Matteo’s massive chest.
Matteo didn't flinch. With the cold precision of a military operative, he drew a Glock from beneath his armpit, leaned around the pillar, and returned fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The front windshield of the van shattered into spiderwebs. The driver jerked violently as a round struck his shoulder. The van swerved erratically, smashing into a parked sedan with a sickening crunch of metal.
From down the block, Dominic's second escort vehicle surged forward, cutting off the van’s escape route. Two more Salvatore enforcers exited with weapons drawn, surrounding the damaged van before the masked men could recover.
"Get them in the car! Now!" Matteo barked, his voice steady despite the bleeding graze across his forearm.
He shoved me into the back seat of our armored SUV and placed Chloe into my trembling arms. The doors slammed shut, the heavy locks clicked into place with a mechanical thud, and the driver floored the accelerator, rocketing away from the school grounds.
In the back seat, I clutched Chloe against my chest, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. Chloe was sobbing hysterically, her small fingers twisting into my shirt.
"Mommy! Mommy, I'm scared!" she cried.
"I know, baby. I know," I choked out, kissing the top of her head while tears streamed down my face. "You're safe. Mommy’s got you. You're safe."
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I looked out the heavily tinted, bulletproof rear window as the flashing blue lights of police sirens appeared in the distance.
Dominic had been right. The monsters from his world didn't care about innocent children. They didn't care about rules. They wanted to destroy Dominic Salvatore, and they were willing to tear my daughter apart to do it.
