Chapter 5 - BLOOD ON THE SILK
Two weeks passed. Emma adapted to the penthouse with the resilience only a child possesses, befriending the stoic bodyguards who turned into soft-hearted giants around her. But the war raged outside. I watched the news, seeing 'gas leaks' and 'industrial accidents' that I knew were fronts for the Moretti-Rossi war.
One afternoon, while Emma was painting in the sunroom, the reinforced glass of the penthouse shattered.
Gunfire erupted. A sniper from a neighboring building.
"Get down!" a guard roared. I dove over Emma, shielding her tiny body with my own as bullets chewed through the luxury furniture. Glass rained down on us. Within seconds, Damiano’s security team returned fire, and the threat was neutralized, but my heart was beating out of my chest.
Damiano stormed into the room moments later. When he saw me clutching Emma, covered in shattered glass but unharmed, a feral sound tore from his throat. He dropped to his knees, pulling us both into his massive arms.
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"I'm going to kill every last one of them," he swore into my hair, his hands trembling for the first time. "I will burn this city to the ground before I let them put a scratch on either of you."
It was in that moment, surrounded by ruin and the smell of gunpowder, that I realized I wasn't just a witness to him anymore. I was his weakness. And his greatest strength.
