Chapter 4 - The Fire in the Nursery
My instincts took over before my brain could process the terror.
I didn't scream.
Screaming would wake Lily, and waking Lily would make her cry, and crying would make Marco act faster.
I grabbed the heavy iron desk lamp from the bedside table and swung it with everything I had.
The heavy base struck Marco across the side of his neck with a dull thud.
He grunted, stumbling sideways, dropping the glass vial onto the thick carpet.
The bottle didn't break, but the distraction gave me three seconds.
“Lily! Wake up!” I screamed, ripping the bedsheets off her.
The little girl woke up startled, her eyes wide with terror as she saw the large man recovering his balance near the door.
“Mommy?” she whimpered.
“Hold onto my neck! Hold on tight!” I yelled, pulling her against my chest with my left arm while picking up a heavy wooden chair with my right.
Marco regained his footing, his eyes blazing with psychotic rage.
“You stupid, worthless maid!” he hissed, drawing a suppressed pistol from his jacket. “You think you can ruin five years of planning?”
He raised the gun.
I threw the wooden chair directly at his face.
The chair shattered against his arms as he fired.
The silenced gunshot sounded like a heavy whip cracking in the tight space—Pfft!
The bullet shattered the porcelain lamp right next to Lily’s head.
Plaster dust fell over us like artificial snow.
Lily shrieked, burying her face into my collarbone, her small nails digging into my skin.
I didn't run toward the door; Marco blocked it.
I ran toward the narrow service balcony at the back of the room.
The balcony overlooked the courtyard three stories below, but there was an exterior iron fire escape ladder attached to the stone brickwork.
I kicked the glass doors open, the freezing night air hitting us like a physical blow.
“Stop her!” Marco shouted toward the hallway.
Footsteps echoed from the corridor—he had brought his own loyal guards, men loyal to his pocket, not to Matteo.
I scrambled over the iron balcony railing, clutching Lily with one arm, my feet slipping on the rain-slicked metal steps of the emergency ladder.
Down below, the courtyard was dark.
Rain was beginning to fall in heavy, blinding sheets.
“Mommy, I’m scared!” Lily cried into my ear, her tiny body shaking violently.
“Don't look down, baby!” I yelled above the sound of the wind and rain. “Look at me! Keep your eyes on mommy!”
Above us, Marco appeared on the balcony, raising his pistol once more.
He aimed directly at my back.
There was nowhere to hide on the open ladder.
I squeezed my eyes shut, using my own torso to shield Lily as completely as I could.
I waited for the burning impact of lead.
Instead, a thunderous roar echoed through the courtyard.
Not a silenced shot.
A heavy shotgun blast.
Marco’s shoulder exploded in a spray of dark blood, and he was thrown backward into the bedroom, screaming in pain.
At the bottom of the ladder stood Matteo Moretti.
He was standing in the pouring rain, dressed in a black trench coat, holding a smoking double-barrel firearm in his right hand.
Behind him were eight of his most elite guards, weapons raised, securing the perimeter.
“Get down here, Elena!” Matteo commanded, his voice slicing through the sound of the rainfall.
I didn't hesitate.
I scrambled down the remaining rungs, my bare feet bleeding against the sharp iron edges, until my boots hit the wet cobblestones.
Matteo immediately stepped between us and the upper balcony.
He looked down at Lily, who was drenched in rain, her blue stuffed rabbit completely soaked.
Without a word, Matteo unbuttoned his heavy, wool-lined coat, wrapped it completely around both me and my daughter, pulling us against his chest.
His body was warm, smelling of cedar wood and gunpowder.
“I told you I would clean my house,” Matteo murmured into my wet hair. “I just needed Marco to reveal his true allegiance before the entire family.”
From the balcony above, Marco’s bloody voice echoed down.
“You’re a fool, Matteo!” Marco coughed, clutching his ruined shoulder. “The council knows about the money! They know about the leaked routes! You can't prove I did it!”
Matteo looked up into the darkness above.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic recording device.
“I don't need to prove it to the council, Marco,” Matteo called back, his tone terrifyingly quiet. “You just confessed everything over the open comms channel linked directly to every capo sitting in the grand dining room.”
Silence fell over the upper balcony.
A second later, heavy footsteps crashed through the upper hallway.
May you like
The bedroom door above was kicked open from the inside.
The capos had heard every word.
