Chapter 8
The storm outside raged with apocalyptic fury. Torrential rain lashed against the stone facade of the Moretti estate, while heavy thunder shook the very foundations of the building.
Down in the subterranean panic vault beneath the wine cellar, the atmosphere was dead silent. The vault was a fortified bunker of six-inch reinforced steel, equipped with independent air filtration, tactical monitors, and secure landlines.
Hannah sat on a leather sofa inside the vault, cradling three-year-old Sophia in her lap. The little girl had fallen into a light, exhausted sleep, her rosy cheeks resting against Hannah's mint-green dress, her small hands holding onto Hannah's apron.
Hannah kept her eyes fixed on the array of closed-circuit security monitors mounted on the wall.
The screens displayed a chaotic, violent battlefield across the estate's front lawn and grand foyer. Muzzle flashes illuminated the rainy darkness as Luca’s loyal bodyguards engaged Sabato’s mercenary strike force in a fast-paced, high-stakes firefight.
On the central screen, Hannah watched Luca move like an unstoppable force of nature.
His black dress shirt was soaked with rain and blood, his dark tattoos visible under the flashing outdoor floodlights as he wielded his sidearm with lethal, predatory precision. Moving through the stone pillars of the grand terrace, Luca eliminated three of Sabato’s mercenaries in rapid succession, his broad-shouldered frame unyielding under heavy fire.
Suddenly, the screen showing the grand foyer flickered violently and went dark as an explosion shattered the main entrance doors.
A group of four mercenaries breached the interior wing, moving toward the basement access stairs.
Hannah’s heart hammered against her ribs. She looked down at sleeping Sophia, then at the heavy steel wheel handle of the vault door.
"They're inside the house," Hannah whispered to herself, her tearful eyes hardening with a sudden, fierce bravery.
May you like
She gently laid Sophia down on the soft leather sofa, covering her with a warm blanket. Then Hannah walked over to the armory rack beside the vault door, picking up a heavy silver tactical flashlight and a steel fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.
She wasn't a trained soldier, and she wasn't a mobster. But she was a woman who had saved baby Sophia three years ago in a hospital linen closet, and she was not going to let anyone harm her child tonight.
