Chapter 2 - THE SHATTERED PEACE
The heavy oak doors of the west parlor clicked shut, sealing Emma and me in a silence so thick it felt like drowning. I pulled my daughter into my arms, pressing her face against my chest so she couldn’t see the terror I knew was etched across my features. My hands were shaking. I was a waitress, a single mother struggling to pay rent—not a soldier in a mob war.
Minutes stretched into an agonizing eternity. The muffled silence of the mansion was unnatural. Then, the floorboards vibrated beneath my feet. A dull, concussive thud echoed from the opposite wing of the estate. It wasn’t a fiery, Hollywood explosion, but a localized, professional detonation. The walls groaned. Dust sprinkled from the crystal chandelier above us.
"Mommy?" Emma whimpered, her tiny hands gripping my apron.
"It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay," I lied, my voice cracking.
Suddenly, the parlor door handle turned. I scrambled backward, grabbing a heavy brass fireplace poker. The door swung open, revealing Damiano Moretti. He was covered in a fine layer of gray plaster dust, a thin cut bleeding over his left eyebrow, but his bespoke suit was otherwise immaculate. His dark eyes locked onto us, bypassing the weapon in my trembling hands.
"The device was neutralized just in time, but I allowed a secondary charge to blow the windows," Damiano said, his voice a low, lethal baritone. "To make them think they succeeded."
"Who?" I breathed, dropping the poker.
"My fiancée, Isabella," he said, the word tasting like venom on his tongue. "And the Rossi family. They wanted to wipe out the Five Families tonight and take the East Coast." He stepped closer, towering over us, yet his gaze softened when he looked at Emma. "Your daughter saved my life. She saved the lives of every Don arriving at my gates."
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Before I could process that, heavy footsteps sounded in the hall. "Sir, the Dons are at the front gates. Isabella is waiting in the foyer, playing the grieving widow."
Damiano’s jaw clenched. He reached out, his large, calloused hand gently touching Emma’s cheek before his eyes locked onto mine. "You are coming with me. From this second forward, you belong to the Moretti family. I protect what is mine."
