Chapter 3 - The Threat at the Gates
Three weeks later, the morning air in Manhattan was crisp and clear.
At the prestigious Saint Jude Preparatory Academy on the Upper East Side, six-year-old Emma Rossi stood in her crisp new school uniform—a navy blue pleated skirt, a white button-down shirt, and a small red tie. Her hair was tied back in two neat braids.
Sophia stood beside her near the iron gates of the school, holding a small lunchbox decorated with yellow sunflowers.
"Remember, baby," Sophia whispered, kneeling down to fix Emma’s collar, "if anyone is unkind to you, you just focus on your books. You earned your place here with your mind, never forget that."
"I know, Mommy," Emma smiled bright, giving Sophia a big kiss on the cheek. "I’m going to make you proud!"
Emma skipped through the heavy wrought-iron gates, joining the other children entering the grand limestone building.
Sophia stood watching her until she vanished inside, letting out a long, heavy sigh. She adjusted her coat, turning around to walk toward the subway station to catch her morning cleaning shift at the hospital.
Suddenly, a sleek black SUV with tinted windows pulled up to the curb, cutting off her path.
The rear door slid open, and two heavy-set men in leather jackets stepped out. One of them had a thick scar running from his ear to his jawline—a senior soldier from the Morello syndicate.
"Sophia Rossi?" the scarred man asked, his voice rough and rasping.
Sophia’s heart dropped into her stomach. She instinctively stepped back toward the school wall. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Don Frank Morello wants to have a little chat with you, sweetheart," the man grinned, revealing a gold-capped tooth. "We've been watching you. We saw the big boss, Alessandro Moretti, holding your kid in Central Park three weeks ago. We saw his private security detail tailing your apartment."
Sophia’s blood ran cold. "I don't know him! He was just a stranger in the park!"
"Is that why he put four of his best men on your block?" the man sneered, stepping closer, grabbing her arm with a vise-like grip! "Don Frank thinks you're Alessandro’s new sweet spot. A little leverage to make the Don hand over the Queens docks."
"Let go of me!" Sophia screamed, struggling against his grip!
"Get in the car!" the second man growled, reaching for her waist!
BOOM!
Before the second man could touch her, a heavy black sedan slammed into the rear of the SUV at forty miles per hour, sending metal flying across the pavement!
The doors of the sedan flew open! Marco and three elite Moretti guards flooded out, weapons drawn, taking down the second attacker with lightning-fast tactical precision!
Marco lunged forward, grabbing the scarred man by the throat, slamming him face-first against the hot hood of the crashed SUV!
CRACK!
The man shrieked in pain as his arm was pinned behind his back!
"Touch her again," Marco growled into the man's ear, his voice deadly, "and I will feed you to the fish in the East River."
Sophia fell back against the school wall, shaking violently, gasping for air.
Within ten seconds, a second luxury sedan pulled up to the curb. The rear door opened, and Alessandro stepped out, wearing a sharp charcoal suit. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying wrath.
He walked over to Sophia, ignoring the captured thugs on the ground. He took off his heavy wool overcoat and placed it gently over Sophia’s shaking shoulders.
"Are you hurt, Sophia?" Alessandro asked softly, his voice trembling with a rare, controlled anger.
"Emma..." Sophia sobbed, grabbing his lapels, her eyes wide with hysterical terror. "Is Emma safe?! They were going to use my baby!"
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"Emma is completely safe," Alessandro assured her, taking her cold hands into his warm, firm grip. "Marco’s men are already inside the school securing her classroom. No one will ever touch your daughter, Sophia. I give you my word as a man."
He turned his head slightly toward Marco. "Take these two pieces of garbage to the warehouse in Brooklyn. Tell Don Frank Morello that I am coming for him tonight."
