Chapter 6 - SHATTERED GLASS AND BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Six months after my arrival.
It was Elena’s seventh birthday. We hosted a private party in the grand dining room. It was supposed to be a safe, intimate gathering—just trusted capos, loyal family members, and the staff.
I was wearing a simple white dress, carrying a massive chocolate cake covered in seven blazing candles. Elena was clapping, her eyes wide with joy, sitting at the head of the long mahogany table. Nico stood beside her, looking more relaxed than I had ever seen him.
Lorenzo was there, too. Smiling. Clinking his glass. Nico was waiting for the final piece of evidence from his hackers before making his move against his uncle tonight.
As I walked toward the table, singing "Happy Birthday," the first shot rang out.
It was deafening, a crack of thunder that shattered the floor-to-ceiling windows behind the table. The bullet struck the birthday cake in my hands, obliterating the frosting and candles into a spray of chocolate and sparks.
Time slowed down to a horrifying crawl.
Screams erupted. Men drew weapons. But I didn't look at the window, and I didn't look at Nico. I looked at the red laser dot suddenly dancing across Elena's chest.
"Elena!" I screamed, dropping the ruined cake.
I didn't think. I just threw myself forward. I hit the little girl, wrapping my body around hers and knocking her out of her chair just as the next volley of bullets tore through the room.
The glass shattered completely. A deafening roar of automatic gunfire filled the air.
Something hit my back. It felt like a sledgehammer swung at full speed, burning white-hot. I gasped, tumbling to the cold marble floor, pulling Elena tight against my chest to shield her from the falling glass and splintered wood. Another sharp, burning pain sliced through my shoulder.
"Clara!"
The gunfire was returned tenfold as Nico's men fired into the gardens. The screaming stopped, replaced by the chaotic shouting of orders.
I lay on the floor, my vision swimming. Elena was crying beneath me, unhurt. I tried to push myself up, but my arms wouldn't work. The white fabric of my dress was rapidly turning a dark, wet crimson.
Suddenly, Nico was there. He dropped to his knees, his face pale with a terror I had never seen before. He pulled Elena to safety, handing her to a guard, and then gathered me into his arms, pressing his large hands desperately against the bleeding wounds in my back.
He was staring at me as if something buried deep inside his hardened soul had just violently broken open.
"Clara. Clara, stay with me," he begged, his voice cracking, his hands slick with my blood. "Don't close your eyes."
"Did... did they get her?" I whispered, coughing.
"She's safe. Because of you, she's safe," he choked out, pressing his forehead to mine. "Medic! Get a goddamn medic!" he roared, shaking the very walls of the estate.
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I looked up at the fearsome boss of the Chicago underworld, watching a tear fall from his eye and land on my cheek, right before the world faded to black.
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