Chapter 1 - The Scent of Lemon
The hallway was entirely silent except for the mechanical growl vibrating from the massive dog.
Dante stood frozen with his hand hovering over his holstered weapon.
Dr. Reynolds remained perfectly still while clutching his leather medical bag in pale hands.
Elena could barely breathe as she watched the beast guard its fallen master.
Then came the humming.
A small, tuneless melody drifted out from the open door of the linen closet.
Elena felt the blood drain completely out of her face.
Sophia wandered into the corridor clutching her cheap notebook and a blue crayon.
She did not seem to notice the armed guards or the terrifying scene on the floor.
She only saw the big dog.
"Sophia, stay back," Elena whispered, her voice cracking with pure terror.
Dante reached out to grab the child, but he was a fraction of a second too late.
Sophia walked right past the heavily armed head of security without a single care in the world.
She stepped entirely into the danger zone and stopped directly in front of the enormous Cane Corso.
The beast stopped growling instantly and lowered its massive, scarred head.
Sophia reached out her tiny hand and gently patted the dog right on its dark nose.
Titan whined softly and licked her crayon-stained fingers.
The little girl then knelt down on the rug and touched Adrian Moretti's pale cheek.
"He is very sleepy," Sophia announced casually to the silent room.
Dr. Reynolds saw his narrow window of opportunity and rushed forward to drop his bag beside the mafia boss.
He checked Adrian's pulse and quickly peeled back one of his eyelids to examine the pupil.
The doctor's face turned completely white.
He looked up at Dante with pure panic shining in his eyes.
"This is not a heart attack," the doctor said, his voice trembling as he opened his medical kit.
"His heart rate is plummeting and his skin is ice cold."
The doctor carefully reached out and sniffed the puddle of water near the broken crystal glass.
"He has been poisoned with a military-grade neurotoxin."
Dante immediately drew his gun and spun around to face the empty ends of the hallway.
"Lock down the entire estate right now," Dante shouted into his shoulder radio.
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The doctor frantically pulled a syringe from his bag and looked at the terrified men.
"Nobody leaves this floor because whoever gave him this drink is still in the house."
