Chapter 3 - The Safehouse
Alessandro grabbed Camille's arm and pulled her forcefully toward the side exit.
"Move right now, do not look back," he commanded in a tone that demanded absolute obedience.
Camille scooped Sophie into her arms, abandoning her luggage entirely as she sprinted beside him.
They burst through the heavy glass doors into the humid New York evening.
Alessandro flagged down a black luxury town car waiting at the curb.
He shoved a stack of hundred-dollar bills into the confused driver's hand and pulled the man out of the driver's seat.
Alessandro slid behind the wheel, waiting just long enough for Camille to pull Sophie into the back seat.
The tires screamed against the asphalt as he merged violently into the heavy airport traffic.
He checked the rearview mirror and saw a black SUV aggressively swerving through lanes to catch them.
"Who are those people?" Camille yelled over the roar of the engine.
"They belong to my family," Alessandro answered coldly, taking a sharp turn down a narrow access road.
"Why is your own family trying to kill us?" she demanded, holding a terrified Sophie tightly against her chest.
"Because my uncle took control of the empire while I was in the coma," he explained, gripping the steering wheel.
"He knows that if I discover I have an heir, I will tear his entire regime apart to protect her."
Alessandro executed a flawless tactical maneuver, cutting across three lanes of traffic and ducking into a subterranean parking garage.
The pursuing SUV sped past the entrance, completely losing their trail in the chaos of the city.
He drove to the lowest level of the garage and parked the stolen car in a dark corner.
"We have to switch cars," he told her, leading them to a pristine silver sedan he kept stashed for emergencies.
They drove in absolute silence for thirty minutes until they reached a towering skyscraper in Manhattan.
He used a coded keycard to access a private elevator that took them directly to a heavily fortified penthouse.
The doors hissed open, revealing a massive, luxurious apartment overlooking the city skyline.
"We are safe here for now," he said, locking the heavy steel deadbolts behind them.
Camille set Sophie down on a massive leather sofa, looking around the cold, beautiful room.
"The gallery owner who invited me to New York," Camille started, her voice shaking.
"It was a trap," Alessandro finished for her, pulling a hidden cache of weapons from behind a bookshelf.
"My uncle set up the fake art exhibition to lure you out of Europe."
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Before he could load a fresh magazine into his weapon, the penthouse security alarm began to blare.
A heavy, explosive breach shattered the reinforced glass of the balcony doors.
