Part 6: Blood on the Corridor
“Get down!”
Alessandro reacted with terrifying speed. In a single fluid motion, he lunged forward, grabbing my waist and tackling me to the floor behind a heavy marble-topped console table just as a second bullet shattered the stained-glass window above the sitting area.
Shards of colored glass rained down like jewels across the carpet.
“Matteo!” Alessandro roared into the comm-link clipped inside his collar. “West wing, third-floor corridor! We’ve been breached! Code Red!”
“Moving in, Boss!” Matteo’s voice crackled back through the static, instantly followed by the heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots charging down the hall.
Panic surged through my veins. I scrambled up onto my hands and knees, my heart pounding in my ears. “Emma! Emma is in the bedroom!”
“Stay down, Elena!” Alessandro ordered, drawing his Walther PPK with his right hand while using his left to shield me. “The bedroom is secure—reinforced ballistic glass and steel doors. She’s safe!”
Heavy gunfire erupted outside in the hallway. Shouts, Italian curses, and the rapid-fire rattle of submachine guns echoed through the villa. The peace of Villa Moretti had been shattered in seconds. Barone’s loyalists were making a desperate, suicidal final strike to eliminate the witnesses before interrogation could expose the rest of their syndicate cell.
Alessandro kicked open the door leading to the inner suite, pushing me gently inside toward the bedroom where Emma was stirring awake, rubbing her eyes in confusion.
“Mommy? What’s that loud noise?” Emma asked sleepily, clutching her blue rabbit.
I rushed to the bed, throwing my arms around her and pulling her onto the floor behind the heavy mahogany bedframe. “It’s okay, sweetheart! Just stay close to Mommy!”
Alessandro stood in the doorway between the suite and the corridor, his silhouette framed by the dim light of the hallway. He fired three precise shots through the open door, each one accompanied by a dull thud as an attacker fell outside. His face was a mask of cold, lethal fury. The elegant, brooding mafia boss had vanished; in his place stood an apex predator defending his den.
Within three minutes, the gunfire abruptly ceased.
“Boss! Area secure!” Matteo’s voice echoed from the hallway. “We neutralized three hitmen. They came through the garden service elevator. All neutralized.”
Alessandro lowered his weapon, his chest heaving slightly from the adrenaline rush. He stepped back into the bedroom, his eyes scanning the room to ensure we were unharmed before letting out a slow, controlled breath.
“Are you both hurt?” he asked, hurrying over to us.
“We’re okay,” I breathed, trembling as I held Emma tightly against my chest. “Just... terrified.”
Alessandro knelt beside us, his hand resting gently on my shoulder. His touch grounded me, cutting through the haze of terror. “This proves what I said, Elena. Barone’s network runs deeper than we thought. They knew the exact layout of this wing. That means there is at least one more insider inside my household.”
“Then why are you keeping us here?” I asked, a mixture of fear and defiance rising in my voice. “We are just painting bigger targets on our backs! Every assassin in Italy is going to come after us if we stay under your roof!”
“Because outside these walls, you wouldn't survive twenty-four hours,” Alessandro replied fiercely, his dark eyes locking onto mine with absolute conviction. “Inside my walls, you are under my personal protection. No one—do you hear me? No one touches what belongs to Alessandro Moretti.”
The word belongs hung in the air between us, carrying a weight that went far beyond mere safety.
Matteo appeared in the doorway, looking grim. “Boss, we caught one of the hitmen alive before he could swallow his cyanide capsule. He’s bleeding out in the courtyard, but he’s asking to speak directly to you.”
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Alessandro stood up, his expression turning glacial once more. “Keep him alive. I’ll be right down.”
He looked back at me one last time before turning toward the door. “Lock this door behind me, Elena. Do not open it for anyone except Matteo or myself.”
