Chapter 8 - The Siege
Chloe absolutely refused to stay hidden while her little brother was in the safe room alone.
She waited exactly ten seconds after Victor left before sprinting quickly back toward the hidden library entrance.
The grand hallways of the estate were completely filled with thick, gray smoke and the terrifying sound of heavy gunfire.
Victor's highly trained guards were fighting desperately against a massive swarm of heavily armed Moretti soldiers.
Chloe dodged blindly behind marble pillars, covering her ears as bullets ricocheted violently off the expensive walls.
She finally reached the hidden safe room and quickly punched the secret code into the keypad.
The heavy door slid open, revealing Tommy sitting terrified on the floor, clutching a baseball bat tightly.
"We have to move right now, they are inside the house," she told her brother frantically.
She grabbed his hand and led him carefully down a dark, secondary servant's staircase toward the basement.
They reached the massive underground garage, hoping to steal a car and escape the violent crossfire entirely.
Just as they approached the armored SUV, the heavy steel door of the garage slammed completely shut.
A tall man stepped slowly out from the dark shadows, holding a heavy assault rifle aimed directly at them.
It was Leo, Victor's most trusted right-hand man and his oldest childhood friend.
"I am so sorry, Chloe, but Victor has become entirely too soft to lead our family," Leo sneered coldly.
The horrific realization washed over her instantly; Leo was the true traitor who had poisoned Victor.
Leo had sold them all out to Dante Moretti in exchange for total control of Victor's massive criminal empire.
"Let my brother go, he is just a sick kid who means absolutely nothing to you," she begged desperately.
Leo laughed entirely without humor and grabbed Tommy violently by the collar of his shirt.
He pressed the hot barrel of his rifle aggressively against the side of the teenager's head.
The garage door suddenly opened again, and Victor stepped inside, completely covered in dust and blood.
He froze instantly when he saw his best friend holding a weapon directly to Tommy's head.
"Drop your guns, Victor, or the kid's brains decorate your expensive cars," Leo demanded loudly.
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Victor stared at Leo with a look of profound, deeply heartbreaking betrayal in his dark eyes.
Without a single word of protest, Victor slowly unbuckled his shoulder holster and dropped his weapons onto the concrete.
