Chapter 9 - THE SIEGE OF MORETTI MANOR
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I rushed down the smoky second-floor corridor, keeping Sophia's head buried securely against my shoulder.
The mansion echoed with the deafening sounds of warfare: splintering wood, shouting men, and the relentless crack of gunfire.
Just as I reached the heavy mahogany double doors of the private library, Marco, our loyal driver, came sprinting around the corner.
His black suit jacket was torn, and blood dripped from a deep cut above his left eyebrow.
"Claire! Thank God!" Marco yelled over the din of battle, raising his tactical shotgun to cover the corridor behind us.
"Follow me into the library! The panic vault entrance is concealed behind the south bookshelf!"
We hurried inside the vast library, the smell of gunpowder already mixing with the antique leather and paper.
Marco rushed to the decorative lion head carved into the ornate wooden fireplace and pulled down hard on the left ear.
With a heavy mechanical groan, the massive oak bookcase swung outward, revealing a thick steel bank-vault door.
"Get inside with Sophia right now!" Marco ordered, punching a six-digit code into the illuminated digital keypad.
The heavy hydraulic bolts disengaged with a deep hiss, and the thick steel door swung open into a brightly lit concrete bunker.
"Are you coming with us, Marco?" Sophia cried, her eyes wide with fear as she saw the blood on his forehead.
"No, little princess," Marco said with a brave, reassuring smile. "I have to go back and help your father hold the main staircase."
"Marco, wait!" I called out, setting Sophia safely on the carpeted floor inside the secure vault.
"Take this," Marco said, pulling a compact, loaded semi-automatic handgun from his shoulder holster and pressing it into my hands.
"The safety is off. If anyone other than Luca or me tries to cross that threshold, you empty the entire magazine."
"I don't know how to shoot, Marco," I whispered, my hands shaking as I held the cold, heavy metal weapon.
"You just point at the center of the doorway and pull the trigger until it stops clicking," he replied grimly.
Marco turned and sprinted back out into the smoky hallway, his shotgun roaring as he engaged two intruders advancing up the stairs.
I immediately hit the emergency lockdown button inside the steel doorframe, intending to seal the vault completely.
Suddenly, a heavy combat boot jammed into the closing gap, preventing the hydraulic steel mechanism from locking.
A tall, masked mercenary in black tactical gear shoved his shoulder against the door, forcing it open by three feet.
He saw Sophia huddled in the corner and raised his suppressed submachine gun with lethal intent.
My instincts completely took over, wiping away every trace of fear, hesitation, and self-doubt.
I raised the heavy pistol with both hands, aimed directly at the center of the intruder's chest, and pulled the trigger.
The gun kicked violently in my grip with a deafening boom that echoed off the reinforced concrete walls.
The bullet struck the mercenary's tactical vest, knocking him backward off balance onto the library's parquet floor.
Before he could recover and raise his weapon again, a dark figure appeared behind him like a vengeful phantom out of the smoke.
It was Luca.
With a single, devastating strike, Luca disarmed the intruder and neutralized the threat instantly.
He kicked the mercenary's weapon across the floor and stepped into the doorway of the vault, his dark suit covered in dust and ash.
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He looked down at me holding the smoking gun, and then at his unharmed daughter weeping in the corner.
"Nobody touches my family," Luca breathed, his eyes blazing with a mixture of raw fury and profound gratitude.
