Chapter 2 - The Interception
Camille dropped her handbag onto the polished airport floor.
She grabbed Sophie's hand with a frantic desperation and pulled the little girl behind her legs.
Alessandro raised both of his hands slowly, showing her his empty palms.
He took a cautious step forward, ignoring the dead assassin sitting on the bench behind him.
"Camille, it is me," he said, keeping his voice low enough that only she could hear.
"You are dead," she whispered, her voice trembling violently.
"I was in a coma for eight months, but I survived," he explained softly.
"Your father came to my apartment and told me you died in the crossfire," she choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Alessandro felt a fresh wave of blinding rage toward his own family.
His father, the former head of the Vitali empire, had lied to the only woman Alessandro ever loved.
"He told me that your enemies were coming to wipe out anyone connected to you," she continued, backing away.
"He handed me a fake passport and told me if I ever returned to America, the syndicate would kill my baby."
Alessandro absorbed the sheer magnitude of the betrayal that had robbed him of his daughter's entire childhood.
"I am so sorry, Camille," he said, taking another step toward her.
"Do not come any closer," she warned, pulling a small container of pepper spray from her pocket.
"The man on that bench over there just tried to pull a gun on you and Sophie," Alessandro stated flatly.
Camille's eyes darted to the gray-coated man slouched on the airport seating.
She finally noticed the pool of dark blood expanding slowly onto the pristine white tiles.
Panic erupted in her eyes as she realized the threat was incredibly real.
"They found you, Camille, and we have exactly two minutes before airport security notices that body," he told her.
Sophie peeked out from behind her mother's legs, looking at Alessandro in confusion.
"Mommy, that is the nice man from the airplane," Sophie said innocently.
Before Camille could process this impossible coincidence, three more men in heavy coats entered the terminal doors.
They spread out strategically, their eyes scanning the crowds for Camille.
Alessandro recognized the lead man immediately.
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It was not a Lucchese hitman this time.
It was Marco, Alessandro's own cousin, holding a suppressed pistol clearly visible under his jacket.
