Chapter 5 - The Siege of Rosselli Manor
The revelation exploded like a bomb inside the house.
Victoria stood up so fast her chair fell backward, crashing onto the marble floor. Her face was twisted into an expression of pure, murderous hatred.
“Gabriel’s blood was supposed to end twenty-two years ago!” Victoria screamed, dropping all pretense of elegance. “My father killed Gabriel so the Moretti family could take control of the northern ports! Isabella was supposed to die with him! Clara didn't steal that baby for money—she stole her to keep my brother from smothering her in her crib!”
I gasped, covering my mouth.
My mother... Clara... she hadn't kidnapped me out of greed. She had saved my life! She had taken her dead sister’s baby, stolen the silver dragon pendant to one day prove my identity, and sacrificed her entire life living in poverty, constantly moving, constantly hiding from the monsters who had murdered my real father!
“She saved me,” I whispered, tears spilling over my eyelashes. “My mother saved me.”
“And now,” Victoria snarled, pulling a small pearl-handled revolver from her handbag, “I’m going to finish what my father started!”
Before she could raise the barrel, Dante moved with horrifying speed. He pulled me and Leo’s high chair down behind the solid mahogany table just as a deafening gunshots shattered the air.
BANG! BANG!
The crystal chandelier exploded overhead, showering the room in sharp rain of glass.
Julian drew his weapon, firing two shots toward Victoria, but her personal guards had already smashed through the floor-to-ceiling glass patio doors. Armed men in black tactical gear poured into the dining room, muzzle flashes illuminating the darkness in violent bursts of orange light.
“Get Helena and the boy to the vault!” Dante roared to Julian, drawing a heavy black firearm from his shoulder holster and returning fire with lethal, terrifying precision.
“Dante, no!” I screamed, clinging to Leo, who was wailing in terror against my chest.
“Go!” Dante shouted, turning his head back to look at me one last time. His dark eyes were fierce, filled with the undeniable pride of a father protecting his blood. “You are a Rosselli, Helena! Protect your brother!”
Julian grabbed my arm, dragging me and Leo out through the side service doors as the dining room turned into a full-scale warzone.
Gunfire echoed violently down the cavernous marble hallways. Shouted orders, breaking glass, and the heavy thud of falling bodies resonated through the mansion.
We scrambled down the dark service stairs leading to the basement. Julian’s face was covered in sweat, his gun raised as he checked every corner.
“In here! Quick!” Julian panted, shoving open a heavy steel door that led into a reinforced security vault.
I stumbled inside, clutching Leo tightly to my chest.
Julian stepped in after us, but instead of sealing the vault door, he turned around and locked the heavy mechanical bolts from the outside, looking at me through the small bulletproof glass window.
“Julian!” I screamed, rushing forward and banging my fist against the glass. “What are you doing?! Let Dante in!”
Julian offered me a small, cold, regretful smile.
“I’m sorry, Helena,” Julian said through the intercom speaker. “Victoria promised me thirty percent of the maritime trade if I let the Morettis clean house tonight. Dante is too old. He’s soft. He let a baby and a waitress ruin his focus. It’s time for new management.”
He flipped a switch on the wall outside.
A low, mechanical hiss filled the vault.
Emergency lock-down protocol initiated. The air vents snapped shut, and the digital oxygen timer on the wall began counting down from twenty minutes.
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“Julian!” I begged, tears blinding my eyes as Leo sobbed against my neck. “Don't do this! Please!”
Julian turned his back and walked away into the dark hallway, leaving us trapped inside the soundproof, air-tight tomb.
