Chapter 7 - The Rescue
The brutal sight of the mercenary violently dragging Sophia completely ignited a murderous rage inside Alessandro.
He did not hesitate, firing a perfect shot that instantly shattered the mercenary's kneecap.
The massive man screamed in absolute agony and dropped Sophia heavily onto the wooden dock.
Alessandro sprinted forward, delivering a crushing blow to the man’s jaw with the heavy steel butt of his pistol.
He kicked the unconscious mercenary off the dock and quickly pulled Sophia to her feet.
“Where is Emma?” he demanded, his eyes frantically scanning the dark, chaotic shoreline.
“She is hiding inside the boat!” Sophia cried, pointing toward the sleek, armored speed cruiser tied to the dock.
Alessandro pushed her toward the vessel just as three more heavily armed Falcone thugs emerged from the tree line.
They opened fire immediately, their heavy bullets tearing massive chunks of wood from the boathouse walls.
Alessandro provided aggressive suppressing fire, completely forcing the thugs to dive behind a stack of metal shipping crates.
“Get in the boat and start the engine immediately!” he ordered Sophia, tossing her the encrypted ignition keys.
Sophia scrambled desperately aboard the vessel and found Emma hiding safely under the heavy leather seats.
She jammed the keys into the ignition, and the massive twin engines roared loudly to life.
Alessandro fired his last remaining bullets, entirely empty the magazine of his customized pistol.
He tossed the useless weapon aside and sprinted toward the moving boat, leaping dangerously across the open water.
He landed heavily on the fiberglass deck just as Sophia slammed the throttle completely forward.
The armored cruiser shot away from the dock like a rocket, leaving the angry Falcone thugs stranded on the shore.
They sped out into the dark, freezing waters of the Long Island Sound, finally escaping the burning, chaotic estate.
Alessandro slumped exhaustedly against the console, his chest heaving as he desperately tried to catch his breath.
He looked back at the massive columns of thick black smoke rising from his destroyed, once-beautiful home.
He had lost absolutely everything he had built over the last ten years in a single, devastating night.
He turned to look at Sophia, who was holding a crying Emma tightly in her trembling arms.
“Are you hurt?” he asked softly, his voice completely devoid of its usual cold, authoritative edge.
Sophia shook her head, tears streaming rapidly down her face as she looked at the bleeding wound on his shoulder.
She gently reached out and ripped a long strip of fabric from her simple housekeeper’s apron.
She carefully wrapped the makeshift bandage tightly around his bleeding shoulder to stop the heavy blood flow.
Alessandro watched her gentle, caring hands, deeply moved by her incredible bravery and quiet strength.
He realized he actually cared about this plain, invisible woman more than he ever thought possible.
His secure satellite phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming encrypted video transmission.
He answered it to see the smug, arrogant face of Don Falcone staring back at him from his own study.
Falcone was sitting comfortably in Alessandro’s leather chair, smoking one of his expensive Cuban cigars.
“You put up a very impressive fight, Alessandro,” Falcone mocked, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
“But as you can see, I have completely taken over your entire empire.”
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Falcone casually turned the camera to reveal Isabella sitting tied to a chair, looking completely terrified.
And standing right beside her, holding a loaded gun to her head, was Victor Hale, Alessandro’s most trusted head of security.
