Chapter 17 - Blood and Fire
The grand hallways of the Moretti estate were transformed into a horrific warzone within seconds.
Thick, acrid smoke filled the air, burning my lungs as I sprinted closely behind Luca. Bullets chewed through priceless oil paintings and shattered the imported marble pillars. Dante’s heavily armed mercenaries were pouring through the breached entrance, determined to slaughter every single person inside.
“Get to the nursery!” Luca roared to Marco over the deafening chaos. “Do not let them touch my son!”
Marco broke off down the western corridor, firing rapidly to clear a path.
Luca grabbed my hand, yanking me behind a heavy stone archway just as a volley of bullets decimated the wall where we had been standing a second before. He leaned around the corner, firing three calculated, lethal shots that instantly dropped three attackers in the foyer.
He was a machine of absolute violence, completely devoid of fear. But there were too many of them.
“We need to fall back to the panic room,” Luca ordered, assessing the overwhelming odds with a grim expression.
Before we could move, a deep, booming laugh echoed through the shattered grand foyer.
Dante Romano stepped through the smoke, flanked by six heavily armored guards. He was a terrifying mirror image of my own father—tall, ruthless, and radiating a venomous hatred that chilled me to the bone.
“It is over, Luca!” Dante shouted, his voice echoing over the dying gunfire. “You are outmanned and outgunned. Surrender the estate, and I might let you die quickly.”
Luca didn't flinch. He tightened his grip on my hand, preparing to fight to the very last drop of his blood.
“You coward,” Luca spat back. “You hide behind mercenaries because you know you cannot face me alone.”
Dante chuckled darkly, stepping further into the light. His cruel eyes scanned the shadows until they locked directly onto me, cowering behind Luca’s massive frame.
“I don't need to fight you, Luca,” Dante smiled wickedly. “Because your greatest weakness is standing right behind you.”
Dante pointed a heavily scarred finger directly at my face.
“Tell him, Isabella!” Dante yelled, ensuring his voice carried to every single one of Luca’s surviving guards in the room. “Tell the great Moretti boss who he has been sleeping with! Tell him exactly whose blood flows in your veins!”
The entire world completely stopped spinning.
Luca slowly turned his head, looking down at me with a profound, terrifying confusion. “Isabella?” he whispered, the betrayal already forming in his dark eyes.
I had absolutely nowhere left to hide. The truth had finally cornered me in the middle of a warzone.
I stepped out from behind Luca's protective shadow, squaring my shoulders as I looked directly at the uncle I had never known.
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“My name is Isabella Romano,” I said clearly, my voice slicing through the heavy silence. “I am the rightful heir to the Romano syndicate.”
I heard the sickening sound of a dozen guns cocking behind me. Luca's own men had just realized their boss was protecting the enemy queen.
