Chapter 8 - The Guard Dog's Wrath
By six o'clock in the evening, the sun began to sink below the horizon, casting deep crimson and purple shadows across the sky above the Moretti estate.
In the master suite on the second floor, Elena sat on a luxurious velvet sofa, watching Sophia peacefully draw pictures at a small table. Four heavily armed guards stood watch outside the heavy oak doors, while Titan lay comfortably near the foot of the massive king-sized bed.
Downstairs in the courtyard, twenty black armored SUVs stood idling in formation, their headlights cutting through the twilight mist. Over fifty Castalano soldiers dressed in tactical gear assembled in silent, lethal readiness.
Adrian stood in the grand foyer, wearing a long dark overcoat over his black tailored suit, his fedora pulled low. He adjusted his heavy luxury watch, checking the time.
Dante stepped up beside him, handing him a high-tech satellite comms unit. "The strike team is in position surrounding the Falcone perimeter, Boss. On your command, we breach."
Before Adrian could give the order, a sudden, muffled scuffle echoed from the upper balcony above the foyer.
Adrian’s head snapped upward.
A secret panel in the upper hallway wall swung open, and three figures stepped out into the dim light.
At the front was Don Falcone himself—a ruthless, sixty-year-old crime lord with sharp, cruel features and graying hair, wearing a dark trench coat. He held a suppressed pistol aimed directly at Elena’s temple, dragging her forward as a human shield.
Behind him stood his chief enforcer, holding five-year-old Sophia in his arms, a heavy hand covering the little girl's mouth.
"Looking for me, Adrian?" Falcone sneered, his raspy voice echoing off the high marble ceilings of the foyer.
Adrian froze, his blood turning to liquid nitrogen. The fifty soldiers in the courtyard raised their weapons, but nobody dared to take a step toward the balcony.
"Release them, Falcone," Adrian said, his voice dropping into a terrifying, whispery growl that shook the air. "You step out of this house alive only if you let them go."
Falcone let out a cruel, mocking laugh. "You think you've won because you survived my poison, Moretti? I knew Marcus would fail. That's why I used your estate's old drainage tunnels to come here myself. Hand over your weapons and order your men to stand down, or I put a bullet through Leo's maid right now!"
Sophia struggled in the enforcer's grip, her brown eyes wide with fear, tears welling on her fair rosy cheeks.
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Suddenly, a deep, earth-shattering snarl echoed from the upper corridor behind Falcone.
Titan stepped out of the shadows. His ears were flat against his skull, his black and tan fur bristling, his fangs bared in pure, monstrous fury as he saw the child in danger.
