Chapter 3 - The Ghost House
Enzo screamed in agony and dropped his heavy rifle onto the floor.
Dominic did not wait to see if his former friend would recover.
He grabbed Sophia by the hand and scooped little Lily up into his arms.
They sprinted out the back door and ran across the dark, manicured lawn.
Dominic bypassed his usual fleet of luxury cars and headed for an old, unmarked sedan hidden in the garage.
He hotwired the engine in seconds and sped off into the freezing night.
Sophia sat in the passenger seat, shaking uncontrollably as she held her sleeping daughter.
She apologized repeatedly for bringing this terrible danger to his doorstep.
Dominic told her to stop apologizing immediately.
He said he had promised to protect them the moment that little girl had covered him with a blanket.
They drove for two hours until they reached a dilapidated cabin hidden deep in the upstate woods.
This was a ghost house, known only to Dominic and absolutely no one else in his syndicate.
They went inside and Dominic lit a small fire in the dusty hearth to keep Lily warm.
Sophia finally explained the terrifying truth about her dark past.
She was not just running from a random abusive ex-husband.
Her ex-husband was Marcus Falcone, the violent heir to the rival empire.
Marcus wanted Lily back to secure his inheritance and bloodline.
Dominic promised he would burn the entire Falcone empire to the ground before they touched the child.
They shared a quiet, incredibly intense moment by the fire.
For the first time in his life, Dominic actually felt like he had a real family.
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from Sophia's beautiful face.
Suddenly, a loud, rhythmic beeping sound interrupted the peaceful silence.
Dominic froze and frantically began searching the small cabin for the source of the noise.
He traced the sound to the pink stuffed bunny that Lily was holding tightly in her sleep.
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He ripped the seam of the toy open and pulled out a sophisticated military-grade GPS tracker.
The blinking red light meant a heavily armed tactical team was already entirely surrounding the cabin.
