Chapter 9 - The Final Betrayal
The betrayal cut deeper than any bullet ever could.
"Marco?" I whispered, my voice thick with absolute disbelief.
Marco refused to look me in the eye, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might shatter.
"I am sorry, Boss," Marco said hoarsely.
"Dante held my family hostage in Italy; if I do not follow his orders, my wife and daughters will be executed."
Dante laughed, a cruel and echoing sound that filled the ruined master suite.
"Loyalty is just a matter of leverage, Adrien," Dante mocked, stepping closer to inspect the crying babies.
Elena stood bravely in front of the cribs, pulling little Sophie securely behind her skirt.
"Execute him, Marco," Dante ordered carelessly, turning his back to us to look at his new heirs.
I closed my eyes, preparing for the blinding flash of the gunshot.
I thought about my late wife, Clara, and how fiercely I had tried to protect the beautiful life we created.
A deafening gunshot rang out in the master suite.
But I did not fall.
I opened my eyes and saw Dante stumble forward, blood blooming rapidly across the shoulder of his tailored suit.
Marco had shifted his aim at the absolute last microsecond, shooting Dante instead of me.
"I would rather die than betray a good man," Marco shouted, stepping up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me.
Dante roared in pain and spun around, firing his pistol wildly in our direction.
I dove to the floor, pulling Elena and Sophie down with me behind the heavy oak bed frame.
Marco returned fire, exchanging brutal, point-blank shots with Dante in the center of the room.
Dante was hit twice more, but the heavy Kevlar vest beneath his suit absorbed the fatal blows.
Realizing he was outgunned, Dante stumbled toward the shattered doorway, desperate to escape.
"You cannot win, Adrien!" Dante screamed, pulling a small, black remote detonator from his suit pocket.
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"If I cannot have the empire, no one will!"
He pressed his thumb violently against the red trigger button.
