Chapter 4 - Breaking Point
"What's happening?" I demanded the moment he ended the call, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Salvatore made a move," Damiano said, moving with rapid, calculated speed toward the back hallway where his custom tactical gear and sidearm were locked in a reinforced wall safe. "He didn't hit the ports. He bypassed the estate security and sent a strike team to the private hospital downtown."
The world tilted on its axis.
"My mother," I gasped, the air rushing out of my lungs. "My mother is at that hospital."
"Consiglia is already dispatching an extraction team—"
"Extraction team? She's on a ventilator, Damiano! She can't be 'extracted' like a piece of cargo!" Panic clawed at my throat, sharp and blinding. I grabbed the edge of the marble counter to keep from falling. "You brought this on us. Your war found her because of me!"
Damiano stopped cold. He slammed the safe door shut, turning to face me with a look of raw, tormented fury that cut deeper than any weapon.
"You think I would let anything happen to her?" he roared, closing the distance and grabbing my shoulders with hands that trembled slightly with suppressed rage. "I stationed six of my best men outside her room the night I brought you here! They are holding the line right now!"
I stared up at him, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. The fury drained out of me, leaving only a hollow, terrifying void. "Take me to her."
"It's suicide," he said flatly. "Salvatore wants to draw me out. He knows if I leave the estate—"
"I don't care about your estate, Damiano! I care about my mother!" I wrenched out of his grip, my voice cracking. "You said you'd protect us. Prove it."
For three agonizing seconds, Damiano Corsetti stared at me. I watched the internal war wage across his face—the instinct of a mafia boss trained to never leave his stronghold versus the desperate, driving need of a man who realized the woman standing in front of him had quietly become his entire world.
Then, his shoulders squared. The decision was made.
"Consiglia!" he bellowed.
The head housekeeper appeared in the doorway instantly.
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"Lock down the safe room with Luca. Do not open the doors for anyone except me," Damiano ordered, pulling a heavy black tactical vest over his black shirt and sliding a loaded Sig Sauer into his shoulder holster. He turned back to me, tossing a heavy canvas jacket over my shoulders. "If we die tonight, Soo-Rin, I am sorry I dragged you into my darkness."
"Just drive," I snapped, pulling the zipper up.
