Chapter 5 - The Shield and the Flame
BANG!
The gunshot echoed like thunder across the vaulted ceiling of the Plaza ballroom.
Instantly, before the bullet could travel across the room, I reacted.
I didn't run. I didn't hide.
I stepped directly in front of the stroller, using my own body to shield Enzo and Lily.
At the exact same instant, Vincent moved with terrifying, superhuman speed. He grabbed my shoulder, spinning me behind his massive frame while pulling a sleek black pistol from his tuxedo jacket in one fluid motion.
The bullet grazed Vincent’s shoulder, tearing through his expensive black wool, leaving a streak of crimson.
Vincent didn't even flinch.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
Vincent fired three silenced shots with deadly, surgical precision.
Julian Vale’s forehead sprouted three small red holes. His eyes went wide with shock as he collapsed backward onto the polished marble floor, his silver pistol sliding across the glass-littered carpet.
Behind him, Marco and the Moretti enforcers unleashed a synchronized volley of gunfire, neutralizing the remaining nine Vale gunmen in less than seven seconds.
Silence fell over the grand ballroom, thick with the smell of gunpowder and ozone.
The guests huddled in terror under tables, staring in absolute awe at the scene before them.
Vincent lowered his gun, handed it to Marco, and turned around.
He didn't check his bleeding shoulder. He didn't look at the dead men on the floor. His eyes were entirely fixed on me and the children.
He saw me standing over Enzo and Lily, my arms wrapped protectively around both children, my body shaking with adrenaline, but my eyes fierce and unyielding.
Vincent stepped toward us. He reached out with his uninjured arm, pulling me, Lily, and Enzo’s stroller into a massive, unbreakable embrace.
“You tried to take a bullet for my son,” Vincent whispered into my hair, his voice thick with a deep, violent emotion I had never heard from him before.
“I promised I would protect him,” I sobbed, wrapping my arms around his neck, smelling the metallic scent of his blood mixed with his sandalwood cologne. “I will always protect him.”
Vincent pulled back slightly, looking into my face. He reached up, wiping a stray tear from my cheek with his thumb.
He turned around to face the crowded ballroom—the billionaires, the mafia bosses, the politicians, and the police chiefs who were watching him in stunned silence.
Vincent lifted his voice, his command ringing out across the room like absolute law.
“Listen to me!” Vincent announced, his voice booming off the golden ceiling. “Tonight, Julian Vale tried to attack my family. He failed.”
He reached out, taking my hand and pulling me up to stand beside him, locking his fingers with mine in front of the entire world.
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“This is Maya Vance,” Vincent declared, his eyes flashing with liquid steel. “She saved my heir when my own allies betrayed me. She shielded my children with her life tonight. As of this moment, she is my betrothed. Touch her, and you wage war against the entire Moretti empire!”
The room erupted into stunned, breathless silence, followed by a sudden, resounding wave of applause led by the senior Moretti captains, who bowed their heads in deep respect to their new queen.
