Chapter 5 - THE SIEGE BEGINS
At 2:00 AM, the perimeter alarms of the estate were tripped. Red emergency lights bathed the grand hallways in an eerie glow, and the silence of the night was shattered by the sound of suppressed gunfire echoing from the front gates.
I stood in the command center, watching the monitors as three black tactical vans breached the main entrance. The Falcones had not just sent a hit squad; they had sent an extermination team.
"Marco," I barked into my radio. "Status."
"They've bypassed the outer wall, boss," Marco's voice crackled through the earpiece. "About thirty men, heavily armed. They think we're unprepared. We're funneling them into the courtyard just like you ordered."
"Execute," I commanded.
I turned back to the safe room where Elena was holding Mia tight against her chest. I pulled a sleek matte-black handgun from my holster and chambered a round. Then, I handed a smaller, silver pistol to Elena.
"Keep the door locked. If anyone comes through that isn't me, you don't hesitate. You shoot," I ordered, my eyes locking with hers.
"Lorenzo, you can't fight an army," she pleaded, gripping my arm. "Come with us. Let's run."
"I ran once, fifteen years ago. I will never run again," I said, pulling her into a brief, hard kiss. It was a promise, a seal of my vow. "Lock it."
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I stepped out into the corridor, the heavy steel door thudding shut behind me. The locks engaged with a heavy mechanical clank. I rolled my shoulders, feeling the familiar, cold adrenaline flood my system. I was no longer Lorenzo, the billionaire businessman. I was the devil of the Duca family.
As I made my way toward the grand staircase, the first wave of Falcone mercenaries shattered the floor-to-ceiling windows of the drawing room. Glass rained down like diamonds in the moonlight. I raised my weapon, letting out a breath. The siege had begun.
