Chapter 10: The Siege of the Rossi Estate
The first explosion shook the mansion hard enough to rattle every window.
A fireball erupted at the east gate, sending twisted iron crashing onto the driveway. Armed men poured through the smoke, rifles raised as they spread across the estate with military precision.
"They're inside the grounds!" Marco shouted into his radio.
Lorenzo's expression never changed.
"Lock down the nursery."
Steel security shutters slid over every third-floor window. Reinforced doors sealed automatically, turning the nursery into a fortress.
Hunter instinctively held Leo tighter.
The little boy stirred but didn't cry. Nestled against her heartbeat, he seemed to feel safe despite the chaos outside.
"You stay with him," Lorenzo said.
Hunter looked at him. "What about you?"
"I'm ending this."
Before she could answer, he was gone.
The marble halls echoed with gunfire.
Lorenzo moved through the mansion with calm precision, flanked by Marco and half a dozen loyal guards. Every corner became a battlefield.
One attacker stepped from behind a pillar.
Two shots.
He fell instantly.
Another rushed the staircase.
Marco disarmed him before he reached the second step.
Within minutes, the grand entrance resembled a war zone.
Broken glass.
Smoke.
Spent shell casings scattered across the polished floor.
Yet the attackers kept coming.
"They're not here to rob us," Marco said grimly.
"They're heading straight for the nursery."
On the third floor, Hunter locked the rocking chair against the nursery door.
Mrs. Whitmore stood beside her, gripping an old fireplace poker with trembling hands.
"I never imagined I'd be fighting in this house," the elderly woman whispered.
Hunter managed a faint smile.
"Neither did I."
A loud crash echoed from the hallway.
Then another.
Someone was forcing the reinforced door open.
Leo woke instantly, crying.
Hunter gently kissed his forehead.
"It's okay."
"I'm here."
The crying softened.
Outside, the pounding grew louder.
A voice called through the steel door.
"Miss Higgins!"
It was Vivian.
"You don't have to die today."
Hunter remained silent.
Vivian laughed.
"You think Lorenzo can protect you?"
"He couldn't even protect his own wife."
Hunter's jaw tightened.
"You murdered Sophia."
"I arranged her death."
Vivian's voice was cold, almost amused.
"But I wasn't the one giving orders."
Hunter's eyes widened.
"There was someone above you."
For the first time, Vivian hesitated.
Just enough.
Hunter heard it.
There was fear in her voice.
Fear of someone even more powerful.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The nursery door buckled inward.
A second explosion would bring it down.
Vivian stepped back, raising her rifle.
"Goodbye."
She reached for the detonator.
Before she could press it—
A single gunshot rang through the hallway.
Vivian gasped.
The detonator slipped from her hand.
A crimson stain spread across her shoulder.
She turned slowly.
Lorenzo stood at the end of the corridor, pistol still smoking.
His eyes burned with controlled fury.
"You should have stayed away from my family."
Vivian smiled through the pain.
"You still don't understand."
Lorenzo advanced one step.
"Understand what?"
Vivian laughed weakly.
"Sophia wasn't the target."
The hallway fell silent.
"It was always..."
She coughed blood.
"...Leo."
Those words hit Lorenzo like a freight train.
Not Sophia.
Not him.
His newborn son had been marked for death before he was even born.
Vivian collapsed to the floor.
Still alive.
Still smiling.
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"You'll never find the man who hired me..."
"...because he's already inside your house."
