Chapter 6 - The Lion's Dawn
Marco’s smile vanished. He tried to raise his detonator, but Lorenzo’s finger squeezed the trigger.
Pfft.
A single round tore through Marco’s right shoulder, spinning him around and sending the electronic detonator clattering across the marble floor. Marco screamed, collapsing against the base of the marble fireplace, clutching his bleeding shoulder as blood seeped between his fingers.
Lorenzo walked forward slowly, his boots clicking rhythmically against the stone. He towered over the fallen traitor, his face an unreadable mask of absolute death.
"You burned my house six years ago," Lorenzo said quietly, his voice like grinding ice. "You betrayed my trust. And now you tried to touch my daughter."
"Do it," Marco spat, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. "Kill me. The Board will never stop coming for her, Lorenzo. As long as you sit on that throne, your family is a target."
"The Board is finished," Lorenzo replied coldly. "Leo already transmitted their entire financial ledger to the federal prosecutor's office twenty minutes ago before you broke into the security room. By morning, every safehouse they own will be raided."
Marco’s eyes widened in sheer terror. "You... you planned this?"
"I always plan ahead, Marco. You just forgot who built this city."
Lorenzo raised his pistol, placing the barrel squarely against Marco’s forehead. But before he could pull the trigger, a soft, small voice echoed from the top of the grand staircase.
"Daddy?"
Lorenzo froze.
He lowered the pistol instantly. He looked up toward the stairs. Emma was standing there, wrapped in a warm blanket, peering down past Jeppe with wide, innocent eyes. The sound of gunfire had stopped, replaced by the crackle of distant sirens approaching through the snowy night.
Lorenzo didn't look back at Marco. He turned away from the traitor, walked briskly to the stairs, and scooped his daughter up into his arms, burying his face in her dark curls.
"I'm here, sweetie," Lorenzo whispered, his voice shaking with overwhelming relief. "I'm right here. Everything is okay."
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"The clouds are gone?" she asked softly, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck.
"They're gone forever," Lorenzo promised, carrying her away from the blood and the shadows, out toward the open doors where the morning sun was finally beginning to break through the winter storm, illuminating a new dawn for the Duca family.
