Chapter 7 - BLOOD ON THE MARBLE
Despite Adrian's offensive strategy, Tommy Romano was more desperate than anticipated. While Adrian's strike teams were dismantling Romano's safe houses in Queens, Tommy orchestrated a suicide mission.
It was 2:00 AM on a Tuesday. Sarah was asleep in the guest house, dreaming of her old life and how distant it felt now. Mia was tucked safely in a four-poster bed that looked ridiculously large for her tiny frame.
The silence of the estate was shattered by a deafening explosion.
The front gates of the Moretti compound had been breached by a heavily armored delivery truck packed with explosives. The blast knocked out the primary power grid, plunging the mansion into darkness, illuminated only by the red glow of emergency backup lights.
Adrian was instantly awake, his military training taking over. He grabbed the customized tactical rifle from his safe, slapping a magazine in with a sharp clack. His radio earpiece crackled to life.
"Boss! We have a breach!" Marcus yelled over the sound of intense gunfire. "Multiple hostiles, heavily armed. They're flooding the perimeter!"
"Hold the choke points!" Adrian commanded, sprinting down the hallway. "Where are they focusing the attack?"
"They're ignoring the main vault. They're pushing toward the East Wing! They're going for the guest house!"
Adrian’s blood turned to ice. Tommy was making good on his threat. He didn't want Adrian's money or his secrets; he wanted to destroy the only thing that had brought light into Adrian's dark world.
"I'm on my way," Adrian growled, breaking into a dead run.
Outside, the manicured lawns had turned into a warzone. Tracers lit up the night sky. The Romano thugs were fighting with desperate, drug-fueled frenzy, pushing past the Moretti guards' defensive lines.
Adrian reached the glass corridor connecting the main house to the East Wing just as three masked men smashed through the reinforced doors. They didn't see him in the shadows.
With lethal precision, Adrian raised his rifle. Three suppressed shots. Three bodies hit the marble floor before they even knew they were being targeted.
He kicked open the door to the guest suite. "Sarah!"
Sarah was huddled in the corner of the room, clutching Mia tightly to her chest. She was terrified, but she hadn't screamed. She had placed a heavy oak dresser in front of the bedroom door, trying to barricade them in.
"Adrian!" she gasped as he entered.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, dropping to his knees and checking them both for injuries.
"No, we're okay. The explosion—"
"I know. We are leaving. Now." Adrian scooped Mia into his left arm, holding his rifle in his right. He looked at Sarah, his eyes burning with an intense, protective fire. "Stay exactly behind me. Do not stop running until we reach the panic room in the basement. Understand?"
Sarah nodded, her jaw set. She grabbed the back of Adrian's tactical vest.
They moved out into the hallway. The sound of combat was getting closer. They made it to the main staircase when a Romano enforcer rounded the corner, raising a shotgun.
Time seemed to slow down. Adrian twisted his body, shielding Mia entirely with his own torso. He brought his rifle up, but the enforcer fired first.
The buckshot tore into Adrian's shoulder, throwing him backward against the wall. He grunted in pain, but his grip on Mia never loosened. Through the agony, he leveled his rifle and fired a single round, dropping the attacker instantly.
"Adrian!" Sarah screamed, seeing the blood blooming on his shirt.
"I'm fine! Keep moving!" he roared, pushing off the wall.
They descended into the reinforced basement, the heavy steel door of the panic room hissing shut behind them, sealing them in absolute, impregnable safety. Adrian locked the deadbolts, dropped his rifle, and finally collapsed against the wall, sliding to the floor as shock set in.
Mia wriggled out of his arms and looked at the blood soaking his sleeve. Tears welled in her eyes. "You got hurt. Because of us."
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Adrian gave her a weak, bloody smile. He reached out with his good arm and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I got hurt because I was doing my job, Mia. Protecting my family."
Sarah dropped to her knees beside him, pressing a clean towel to his wound. She looked at him, her heart breaking at his words. Family.
