Chapter 4 - Shadows at the Perimeter
The quiet inside the dining hall vanished in a fraction of a second.
Alessandro stood up smoothly, drawing a heavy tactical sidearm from his shoulder holster with practiced, terrifying speed. His broad frame immediately created a protective shield in front of Sophia and Emma.
The heavy double oak doors of the dining room burst open, and Marcus, Alessandro’s chief security officer, sprinted inside with his weapon drawn.
"Boss! We have a breach at the south gate!" Marcus reported urgently, his dark suit covered in rain. "Valenti’s men realized Vincent’s signal went dark! They're pushing through the garden perimeter with armored SUVs!"
Sophia let out a quiet gasp, pulling Emma into her arms and holding her tightly against her chest. Emma buried her face into her mother's apron, holding her small wooden paintbrush close.
"Take them to the reinforced safe room in the central wing, Marcus," Alessandro ordered, his dark eyes turning into liquid ice. "Lock the steel doors from the inside."
"Alessandro, no!" Sophia cried out, grabbing the sleeve of his white dress shirt. "Don't go out there!"
Alessandro looked down at Sophia’s trembling hand resting on his arm. He reached out, his broad fingers covering hers with a firm, protective grip.
"Nobody enters this house, Sophia," Alessandro said softly, his gravelly voice filled with absolute conviction. "I built these walls to protect what matters. Stay with Marcus."
Alessandro turned around and strode out of the dining hall, his dark navy trousers moving swiftly as six armed bodyguards fell into formation behind him.
Down in the subterranean holding cells beneath the estate, Vincent Romano sat bound to a steel chair, listening to the muffled thuds of gunfire echoing from the gardens above.
The iron door of the cell swung open, and Alessandro stepped inside, his white shirt marked with rain, holding his sidearm flat against his thigh.
"Valenti is at the gate, Vincent," Alessandro said, stopping two feet from the bound estate manager. "He came to retrieve you."
Vincent sneered, his silver hair messy, a desperate, bitter smirk touching his lips. "It's over, Alessandro! Valenti brought thirty men! You can't hold the estate tonight!"
Alessandro reached out, grabbing the small silver crucifix hanging around Vincent’s neck. With a sharp jerk, he snapped the silver chain.
He held the crucifix up to the dim halogen light, examining the silver metal closely. On the back of the cross was a microscopic keyhole.
Alessandro pressed a small latch on the side of his tactical knife into the keyhole. The silver crucifix popped open, revealing a micro-encrypted physical storage key hidden inside the hollow cross.
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Vincent’s sneer instantly died. His face turned as pale as a corpse. "How... how did you know?"
"Emma pointed at your cross twice, Vincent," Alessandro whispered coldly. "A child sees what adults try to hide."
