Chapter 3 - Shadows at the Door
Three men in heavy raincoats stepped over the shattered glass of the front entrance. They held tactical pistols, their faces concealed behind black masks.
They weren't common street thugs; their tactical stance and silent communication signaled professional mercenaries.
"Where is the girl?" the lead gunman growled, pointing his weapon at a terrified volunteer teacher who was shielding two toddlers behind a table.
Before the gunman could rack his slide, Dominic stepped out of the side corridor.
BANG! BANG!
Dominic fired twice with surgical precision. The lead gunman collapsed instantly to the floor, his weapon skittering across the slick tiles.
The remaining two mercenaries spun around, opening fire wildly. Bullets tore into the drywall, sending plaster dust scattering through the air like smoke. Children shrieked in terror as teachers scrambled to shove them beneath heavy wooden desks.
Dominic dove behind a thick brick pillar, returning fire with lethal discipline.
BANG! BANG!
A second attacker dropped, hit in the shoulder, his gun tumbling from his grip.
Out in the street, Noah Grant heard the gunfire and burst through the shattered front door with two armed Vale bodyguards, weapons drawn.
"Clear!" Noah shouted, sweeping the hallway and pinning the third mercenary against the wall, disarming him violently.
Dominic stepped out from behind the pillar, his eyes burning with a cold, terrifying fury. He grabbed the pinned mercenary by the throat, slamming him hard against the brick wall.
"Who sent you?" Dominic growled, pressing the barrel of his gun directly under the man's chin.
The mercenary coughed up blood, sneering through his mask. "You... you thought you could hide her, Vale? The Moretti family... knows about the kid. Old man Vincent's secret is out. If you don't hand over Vale Holdings' docks by midnight... the girl dies."
Dominic’s expression transformed into something lethal—a terrifying storm of absolute malice that made even the mercenary's eyes widen in genuine terror.
"My father is dead," Dominic whispered into the man's ear. "Which means there is no one left to stop me from wiping your entire family off the map."
Dominic struck the man hard with the butt of his pistol, knocking him unconscious onto the floor.
"Noah!" Dominic barked.
"Sir!"
"Lock down the street. Secure the perimeter. Get three armored vans here immediately!"
Dominic turned and sprinted back down the corridor toward the office.
Claire was holding Sophie tightly in her arms, shielding the little girl with her own body behind the desk, trembling violently.
Dominic re-holstered his gun and stepped inside. He dropped to his knees in front of them, his breath heavy, his hands steady as he looked at Claire.
"They know who she is," Dominic said grimly. "The Moretti syndicate knows she's a Vale. This place isn't safe anymore."
Claire looked at the bullet holes in the plaster, then at Sophie, who was sobbing silently into her sweater.
"Where... where can we go?" Claire asked, her voice shaking with terror.
May you like
Dominic held out his hands to them both.
"To my home," Dominic said. "Where no one on earth can touch you."
