Chapter 7 - Checkmate
Carrying me securely in one arm and keeping his weapon ready with the other, Alejandro marched out of the suite, meeting Mama in the hallway where two loyal guards were escorting her to safety. Seeing us both safe, Mama broke down in tears, rushing forward to wrap her arms around us both.
“Elena, take Emma to the underground panic room. Marcus’s old codes are wiped, and the blast doors are sealed,” Alejandro ordered, his voice brooking no argument. “I’m going to finish this.”
“Alejandro, please, there are too many of them—Viktor brought a private army—” Mama pleaded.
“Viktor brought mercenaries who fight for money,” Alejandro interrupted, a chilling, razor-sharp smile touching his lips. “I fight for my home, my family, and my blood. Go.”
Before Mama could argue further, he handed me over to her safely, turning back toward the grand central staircase where the heavy smoke of battle drifted lazily toward the vaulted ceilings.
Down in the massive marble foyer, the battle had reached its climax. Viktor Vance’s mercenaries had taken control of the ground floor, holding a handful of loyal Moretti capos at gunpoint. Viktor stood in the center of the room, panting heavily, his suit jacket ruined by sweat and soot.
“Come out, Alejandro!” Viktor screamed, his voice echoing off the marble pillars. “You’re outmatched! Your estate is burning, your men are cornered, and you have nowhere left to run!”
“Is that so, Viktor?”
The deep, calm voice cut through the cavernous hall like a razor blade.
All heads snapped upward. Alejandro Moretti stood on the grand second-floor balcony, leaning casually against the wrought-iron railing. He wasn't cowering; he wasn't wounded. He looked down at Viktor with the absolute, crushing authority of an emperor looking down at a rebellious peasant.
Viktor raised his pistol, aiming it directly at Alejandro’s chest. “You arrogant bastard. This is the end.”
“You’re right, Viktor,” Alejandro said smoothly. He raised his left hand and slowly pressed a small red button on a remote control he held in his palm. “It is the end. Just not for me.”
Click.
Instantly, every single exit door in the mansion slammed shut with heavy, automated steel shutters locking into place. At the same time, red security lasers crisscrossed the entire foyer, painting bright crimson lines across Viktor and every single one of his hired mercenaries.
From the surrounding upper galleries, dozens of red laser sights appeared on the chests and foreheads of Viktor’s men, aimed by the elite tactical snipers Alejandro had kept stationed in hidden surveillance lofts throughout the estate.
Viktor froze, the color draining entirely from his face. He lowered his gun slowly, his hands beginning to shake. “You... you knew.”
“I’ve known since the day you helped fund Marcus’s poison ring,” Alejandro said quietly, stepping down the stairs with slow, deliberate steps. “You thought your little conspiracy was clever, Viktor. But you forgot one crucial detail.”
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Alejandro stopped right at the bottom of the staircase, towering over his betrayed partner.
“You forgot that a house built on loyalty cannot be bought by a traitor. And you forgot that the person who saved my life wasn't one of my armed soldiers... she was a four-year-old girl with more courage than your entire syndicate combined.”
