Chapter 6 - FIRE AND ICE
The estate was burning.
Smoke billowed through the marble hallways as automatic gunfire echoed from every floor. Julian’s guards were fighting desperately against dozens of heavily armed D'Angelo mercenaries who had breached the front gates.
I carried Leo through the smoke-filled corridors, staying low and using the shadows just as Julian had taught me. My hand held the 9mm pistol I had managed to retrieve from my room's hidden wall safe.
As we reached the grand foyer, I saw Beatrice trapped near the main entrance, pinned down by three enemy shooters. She was bleeding from a wound on her shoulder, her pearl necklace broken, her eyes wide with terror.
One of the D'Angelo mercenaries raised his rifle, aiming directly at the back of her head.
I didn't hesitate. I raised my pistol, took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet struck the mercenary in the chest, sending him crashing through the glass side table. The other two shooters turned toward me in shock. I fired two more rounds, forcing them to duck behind the marble pillars.
I ran forward, grabbing Beatrice by her good arm and pulling her behind the heavy mahogany desk.
Beatrice stared at me in absolute disbelief, her face covered in soot and blood. "You... you saved me? After what I did to you?"
"You're Leo's aunt!" I yelled over the deafening gunfire. "Where is Julian?!"
"He was ambushed at the front gate!" Beatrice gasped, clutching her shoulder. "Hector D'Angelo—your biological uncle—is leading the attack! He wants Leo and the family signet ring!"
Suddenly, the front doors were kicked open.
Through the heavy smoke stepped Hector D'Angelo—a towering man with graying hair, a cruel scar across his throat, and a cold sneer on his face. Behind him stood six elite bodyguards, dragging a wounded, bleeding Julian Vance in heavy iron chains.
Julian’s suit was torn, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead, but his dark eyes were still blazing with unyielding defiance.
"Julian!" I screamed.
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Hector D'Angelo laughed—a dry, grating sound that filled the ruined foyer. "Look at this! The whole pathetic family gathered in one room! And the twin girl... Carlo's forgotten daughter."
Hector pointed his gun directly at Julian's head. "Hand over the child and the shipping port codes, Vance, or I paint this marble with your brains."
