Chapter 10 - The Storm Before the Absolute Reckoning
The estate plunged into absolute tactical warfare. Within seconds of the alarm sounding, the secondary security team deployed from the subterranean armory, engaging Marcus and his rogue operatives in a fierce, breathless shootout down the east wing corridor.
I bolted out of the utility closet, clutching the brass candlestick like a lifeline, and sprinted up the grand staircase toward Teresa’s suite. My lungs burned, and my legs felt like lead, but adrenaline propelled me forward.
If Rossi’s men reached Teresa before Luca returned, everything we had fought for would be destroyed.
As I reached the second-floor landing, the heavy oak door to Teresa’s suite burst open. Two masked intruders emerged, dragging a terrified Teresa between them.
“Let her go!” I screamed, throwing caution to the wind and hurling the heavy brass candlestick directly at the lead intruder.
The metal struck him square in the shoulder, throwing him off balance and forcing him to release Teresa’s arm. Teresa stumbled forward, gasping for air, and I caught her, pulling her behind my back.
“Hannah... run!” Teresa cried, her frail hands gripping my jacket.
“I’m not leaving you!” I yelled back, grabbing a heavy porcelain vase from the hallway console and smashing it onto the floor to create a makeshift barrier of sharp ceramic shards.
The intruders cursed, drawing their sidearms, but before they could squeeze the trigger, a deafening roar echoed from the front entrance below.
The heavy front doors of the mansion were blown inward.
A fleet of black armored SUVs had crashed through the courtyard gates. And leading the charge, moving with terrifying, unstoppable fury, was Luca Moretti.
His suit jacket was gone, his white shirt stained with dirt and blood from the downtown confrontation with Salvatore Rossi. His dark eyes blazed with a murderous rage that could freeze fire.
“Kill everyone who moves!” Luca’s voice thundered through the grand hall, shaking the crystal chandeliers.
His elite personal guards swarmed the staircase like a tidal wave of black tactical gear. In less than thirty seconds, the intruders holding Teresa and me were disarmed, pinned to the marble floor, and zip-tied with ruthless efficiency.
Luca sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time, vaulting over the railing. When he reached the landing, his eyes scanned Teresa and me frantically before locking onto me.
Without a word, he pulled me into his arms so fiercely that I could feel the violent pounding of his heart against my chest.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded, his voice thick with uncontained panic as his hands cupped my face. “Did they touch you?”
“I’m fine, Luca,” I breathed, tears finally spilling over my lashes as I buried my face in his chest. “We’re both okay.”
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Luca let out a long, ragged breath, pressing a passionate, desperate kiss into my hair before turning his gaze toward the captured traitors. The terrifying aura of the ultimate mafia king returned, darker and more absolute than ever before.
“Take them to the basement,” Luca whispered to his captain, his voice like freezing steel. “And prepare the vehicles. We are paying Salvatore Rossi a final visit tonight.”
