Chapter 8 - A Mother’s Fury
Down in the subterranean safe room, the muffled booms of explosions reverberated through the concrete walls. Lily sat in the corner, holding her purple horse drawing tightly, tears streaming down her face. Clara watched the security monitors mounted on the wall, her heart hammering against her ribs. On one screen, she saw Dante get hit in the shoulder, falling near the basement stairs. On another screen, she watched in horror as Marco Moretti and three heavily armed men bypassed the primary defense line, making their way directly toward the lower level where the safe room was located.
Lorenzo was wounded and trapped on the floor above, fighting off the remaining mercenaries. Clara knew that if Marco breached the safe room door, neither she nor Lily would survive. A strange, primal strength welled up inside Clara. She wasn't a soldier or a killer, but she was a mother. She picked up a heavy iron fire extinguisher mounted near the door and hid behind the dark alcove just outside the safe room entrance, where Dante lay unconscious.
The heavy steel door of the corridor burst open. Marco Moretti stepped inside, a triumphant, wicked smirk on his face as he held a silenced pistol. "Come out, little girl! Let’s see what Lorenzo’s blood is made of!" As Marco stepped past the dark alcove, Clara swung the iron extinguisher with every ounce of force in her body, striking Marco across the side of his head. He crumpled to the floor, stunned and bleeding. Before his men could react, Lorenzo materialized from the shadows at the top of the stairs like a vengeful ghost, eliminating the remaining guards in a flash of gunfire.
