Chapter 12 - THE SHADOW’S FINAL STRIKE
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Peace never comes entirely without a price in the underworld.
Three days after Benjamin’s birthday, the past attempted one final, desperate retaliatory blow.
It was two in the morning when the quiet country sanctuary was suddenly pierced by a low, urgent warning.
Bruno was not sleeping by the fireplace.
The elderly dog stood rigidly at the French doors leading to the rear terrace, his gray hackles raised.
He let out a sharp, warning bark that immediately woke the entire household.
Luca was out of bed within a fraction of a second, instinctively reaching for the firearm in his bedside safe.
I rushed into the hallway just as Luca emerged, his eyes sharp and alert.
“Stay in Benjamin’s room, Claire!”
Luca commanded with quiet, deadly authority.
“Lock the reinforced door and do not open it for anyone except my voice.”
Down on the ground floor, Bruno barked again—a furious, defensive roar.
The shattering of exterior glass echoed from the sunroom downstairs.
Two remnants of Vance’s disgraced crew had bypassed the perimeter sensors, desperate to kidnap Benjamin for leverage.
They had expected a dark, defenseless vacation home.
They had not expected an elderly golden retriever with the heart of a war lion.
As the first masked intruder stepped through the shattered glass, Bruno lunged with all his remaining strength.
Despite his failing joints and failing heart, the old dog clamped his jaws firmly onto the intruder’s forearm.
The man screamed in agony, dropping his weapon onto the hardwood floor.
“Get this beast off me!”
The intruder shrieked, kicking violently at the dog’s ribs.
A sickening thud echoed through the house as Bruno took the heavy blow, but he refused to let go.
Before the second intruder could raise his weapon, Luca appeared at the top of the landing.
Two deafening shots rang out in rapid succession, striking the second intruder in the shoulders and dropping him instantly.
The estate’s private security guards swarmed the sunroom seconds later, pinning both men to the floor.
“Secure them!”
Luca roared, racing across the room not toward the attackers, but toward the corner where Bruno had collapsed.
The elderly dog lay on his side on the hardwood, wheezing heavily, blood dripping from a gash on his shoulder.
Benjamin broke through the hallway door, crying hysterically as he threw himself onto the floor beside the dog.
“Bruno! No, no, no!”
I dropped beside them, pressing clean linen against the dog’s wound, tears blurring my vision.
Bruno’s breathing was rapid and shallow, his tongue lolling weakly to the side.
Yet, when Benjamin touched his paw, the brave old dog weakly thumped his tail against the floor twice.
He had done it again.
He had bought the family thirty precious seconds to defend their home.
Luca looked at the captured intruders with eyes full of terrifying, ancient wrath.
“Take them away,” Luca whispered to his security team.
“Hand them to the federal prosecutor immediately with our compliments.”
Luca fell to his knees beside Bruno, his hands trembling as he stroked the dog’s bloody fur.
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“You protected us again, old friend,” Luca whispered, a tear dropping onto Bruno’s gray muzzle.
“You kept your promise.”
