Chapter 3 - The Shadow War
A heavy silenced shot echoed down the narrow corridor.
Vincent gasped, his weapon dropping from his hand as a bullet shattered his wrist. He stumbled back against the pantry frame, clutching his bleeding arm in shock.
Marco Bruno stepped out from the darkness of the pantry stairs, his gun raised, his face completely devoid of mercy. Behind him stood two of Lorenzo’s most loyal enforcers, their weapons trained on Vincent's men in the foyer.
"Drop your weapons!" Marco roared to the guards in the main hall. "Vincent Romano committed treason against the Don! Anyone who draws a gun dies where they stand!"
The guards in the foyer froze, seeing the cold authority in Marco’s eyes and realizing the balance of power had shifted instantly. One by one, they unclipped their holsters and let their weapons clatter to the marble floor.
Vincent slumped against the wall, snarls of pain escaping his lips. "He's dead down there! I bled him out myself! You're backing a ghost, Marco!"
"Don Lorenzo is being treated by Dr. Ricci as we speak," Marco said coldly, stepping up to Vincent and pressing the barrel of his gun against the traitor's forehead. "And thanks to a three-year-old child and a maid you dismissed as worthless, your reign lasted less than two hours."
Sophia didn't wait to watch. She scooped Emma up into her arms, pushed past the disarmed guards, and ran up the back stairwell toward the third-floor servants' quarters.
She locked the heavy oak door of their small room, slid the bolt into place, and pulled Emma into a tight embrace on the small twin bed.
Emma didn't cry. She rested her head on Sophia’s shoulder, her small fingers wrapping around the broken handle of her pink rabbit scissors.
"Mama?" Emma whispered as rain began to pound against the windowpane.
"Yes, my sweet girl?"
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"Did we save Uncle Lorenzo?"
Sophia kissed the top of her daughter's head, tears finalmente spilling over her eyelashes. "Yes, Emma. You saved him. You were the bravest girl in the whole world."
