Chapter 9 - BLOOD ON THE MARBLE
The battle for the Ashford estate was a chaotic symphony of shattered glass and echoing gunfire.
Eleanor led Vincent and a small tactical team through the hidden servant passages—narrow, unlit corridors that ran between the walls of the grand mansion. They bypassed the main foyer, where the Moretti hitmen were laying down heavy suppressing fire, and flanked them from behind the grand staircase.
Eleanor moved with astonishing grace, her years of silently navigating the house serving as the ultimate tactical advantage. When a Moretti soldier rounded a corner, raising a shotgun, Eleanor didn't hesitate. She fired twice, hitting him in the chest, and ducked back into the shadows.
Vincent watched her with a mixture of shock and profound awe.
They fought their way to the security hub, restoring the cameras and locking the blast doors, trapping the remaining Moretti men inside the grand ballroom where Vincent’s men quickly overpowered them.
By dawn, the gunfire had ceased. The grand estate was battered, the marble floors stained with blood and covered in debris, but the Ashford family had held their ground. The Moretti assault team was decimated, and with Sabrina’s ledger in their hands, the authorities would dismantle the rest of the rival syndicate by noon.
Vincent found Eleanor sitting on the steps of the grand staircase. Her apron was ruined, her hands were trembling from the adrenaline crash, and her jagged hair was dried in messy clumps. To Vincent, she had never looked more magnificent.
He sat down beside her, the heavy silence of the surviving house wrapping around them.
"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" he asked quietly.
"My grandmother," Eleanor smiled faintly, staring at her dirt-stained hands. "She said a woman should know how to clean a house, bake a pie, and protect her own."
Vincent let out a low, rough laugh. He reached over, gently taking her trembling hands in his, stopping their shaking.
"You didn't have to stay," Vincent said, his voice thick with emotion. "After what Sabrina did to you... after the humiliation. You could have walked away. You had no obligation to risk your life for my brother. For me."
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Eleanor looked up, meeting his gray eyes. "Family isn't just about blood, Vincent. It's about who you bleed for. Julian needed me. And... I couldn't leave you to face them alone."
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