Chapter 3 - The Blood Tie
The armored SUV skidded violently before coming to a complete halt on the empty bridge.
Riccardo did not waste time asking questions.
He raised his weapon and shot the traitorous driver through the seat without a single moment of hesitation.
He reached over the front console and manually unlocked the heavy doors.
We have to move before they bring out the heavy artillery.
Riccardo kicked his door open and dragged Sofia out into the pouring rain.
The enemy trucks flashed their high beams, blinding them in the darkness.
Men armed with assault rifles poured out of the vehicles and began marching toward them.
Riccardo grabbed Sofia's hand and pulled her toward the edge of the suspension bridge.
Can you swim?
He asked, looking down at the dark, churning river far below.
Sofia shook her head frantically.
I will drown down there.
You will die up here.
Riccardo wrapped his strong arm around her waist.
He jumped off the edge of the bridge just as a barrage of bullets sparked against the metal railing.
They plummeted through the icy air.
The impact with the freezing water knocked the breath completely out of Sofia's lungs.
She sank into the darkness, kicking her legs desperately.
A strong hand grabbed her collar and hauled her up to the surface.
Riccardo dragged her toward the muddy riverbank, coughing up water and blood.
They collapsed in the tall reeds, hidden from the searchlights sweeping the bridge above.
Sofia shivered violently, her waitress uniform soaked and clinging to her skin.
Why are you risking your life for a stranger?
She asked, her teeth chattering in the cold.
Riccardo looked at her, his expression softening despite the brutal circumstances.
Twenty years ago, a rival family burned down the hospital ward to kill my newborn daughter.
They told me her body was reduced to ashes.
He reached out and gently touched the gold bracelet on her wrist.
But I recognize this unique clasp, because I personally designed it for my Chiara.
Sofia felt a warm tear slide down her freezing cheek.
I grew up in an orphanage with nothing but this name on my wrist.
Riccardo pulled out a waterlogged satellite phone that somehow still had a signal.
My extraction team is five minutes away.
We are going to my secure compound to run a DNA test.
Sofia nodded, feeling a strange sense of hope for the very first time in her life.
May you like
But as a pair of headlights cut through the fog to rescue them, Sofia noticed something terrifying.
The gold bracelet had slipped off her wrist during the fall into the river, and it was nowhere to be found.
