Chapter 6 - Behind the Steel DoorFifty-nine seconds.
The digital timer blinked red on the monitor.
Fifty-eight.
Luca struggled to sit up.
Pain shot through his torn shoulder, making him gasp.
“Bernardo has the override codes,” Luca whispered harshly.
“How?”
“He built this estate with my father twenty years ago.”
Fifty-two seconds.
I ran to the weapon locker beside the medical station.
I pulled open the metal door.
Inside were two shotguns and several boxes of ammunition.
I had never fired a gun in my life.
Luca watched me.
“Can you shoot, Emma?”
“I can pull a trigger.”
He shook his head.
“The recoil will dislocate your shoulder. Hand me the Remington.”
I grabbed the heavy black 12-gauge shotgun and carried it to the sofa.
Luca took it with his right hand.
He rested the barrel across his knee.
He racked the slide with one smooth, brutal motion.
CLACK-CLACK.
The sound was heavy.
Final.
Thirty seconds.
On the screen, Vanessa was laughing.
Her expensive evening gown was torn, her hair wild.
“Open up, Luca!” her voice echoed through the external speaker. “Make this easy on yourself!”
Bernardo stepped closer to the microphone.
“You were always too soft, nephew. Letting maids and chefs run your household. A real Don rules with absolute fear.”
Fifteen seconds.
Luca didn't answer.
He looked at me.
“Get behind the desk, Emma. Keep your head down.”
“I'm staying with you.”
“Emma—”
“If they breach that door, you have one arm. You need me to load the shells.”
Luca stared at me for three long seconds.
Then a dark, proud smile spread across his lips.
“Load the spare shells into your pockets.”
I grabbed a fistful of red shotgun shells and shoved them into my apron.
Five seconds.
Four.
Three.
Two.
BEEP.
The hydraulic locks released with an explosive hiss.
The heavy steel door began to slide open.
A smoke grenade rolled through the opening.
Thick white chemical smoke filled the room instantly.
“Now!” Bernardo shouted from the hall.
Two heavily armed mercenaries rushed through the smoke, weapons raised.
BOOM!
Luca fired the shotgun from his knee.
The first mercenary flew backward into the hallway like a ragdoll.
Luca racked the slide with his teeth and good hand.
BOOM!
The second mercenary collapsed with a shattered kneecap.
“Emma! Shell!” Luca barked.
I dropped to my knees beside him.
I shoved two red shells into the loading port underneath the shotgun.
My hands didn't shake.
The adrenaline turned my blood to ice water.
A hail of automatic gunfire chewed through the doorframe.
Plaster and sparks exploded around our heads.
Luca ducked, shielding my body with his broad back.
He took the brunt of the flying debris.
“Bernardo!” Luca roared through the smoke. “You step through that door, and I'll blow your head off your shoulders!”
Outside, the gunfire suddenly stopped.
A cold silence fell over the hallway.
Then, the sound of clapping echoed through the corridor.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Bernardo stepped into the doorway.
He wasn't holding a rifle.
He was holding Vanessa by the hair.
A pistol was pressed hard against her temple.
Vanessa was sobbing hysterically, mascara running down her bloody cheeks.
“Uncle! Please!” Vanessa screamed. “You said I would be protected!”
Bernardo didn't look at her.
His cold eyes were locked onto Luca.
“You always were a fighter, Luca. Just like your father.”
Luca kept the shotgun leveled at Bernardo’s chest.
“Let her go, Bernardo. Your fight is with me.”
Bernardo sneered.
“This stupid girl failed her mission. She left witnesses. She couldn't even poison a sick girl properly.”
He looked down at Vanessa with utter disgust.
“She's useless to me now.”
BANG.
Without a second thought, Bernardo pulled the trigger.
Vanessa slumped to the floor, motionless.
My breath caught in my throat.
He had executed his own operative right in front of us.
Bernardo tossed the empty shell casing aside.
He raised his gun toward Luca.
“Now, nephew. It's time for the Moretti family to return to real leadership.”
Before Bernardo could pull the trigger, a loud roar echoed from down the hall.
“GET ON THE GROUND!”
A flashbang grenade exploded in the corridor.
A blinding white light.
A deafening bang.
Bernardo stumbled backward, clutching his ears.
Daniel charged through the smoke like a freight train, tackling Bernardo to the marble floor.
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Six heavily armed loyal Moretti soldiers followed him, subduing the remaining mercenaries in seconds.
The siege was over.
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