Chapter 4 - The Gunfire in the Fog
The heavy glass window of the library shattered into a thousand glittering shards.
"Get down!" Marco roared, drawing his weapon in a split second and tackling Elina to the hardwood floor just as a second bullet whistled through the air, embedding itself deep into the mahogany paneling above the fireplace.
Vincent didn't panic.
With incredible speed, he lunged across his desk, grabbed the heavy iron fire poker, and jammed it beneath the handles of the heavy double library doors, securing them just as a hail of automatic gunfire erupted outside in the main courtyard.
The alarms began to blare—a deep, rhythmic horn echoing through the entire mansion, setting off strobe lights in the corridors.
"It's Valenti’s men!" Marco yelled over the deafening noise, pulling Elina up by her shoulder and shoving her behind the massive marble hearth. "They breached the north gate!"
Elina’s face turned deathly pale, her eyes wide with frantic terror. "Sophia! She’s in the staff room on the lower floor!"
Vincent turned toward her, his face transformed into a mask of pure, lethal determination. He reached beneath his desk, pulling out a heavy brass key and a sleek, black Sig Sauer pistol from a hidden drawer.
"Marco, take the west stairs and secure the lower corridor!" Vincent commanded, his voice slicing through the chaos like a whip. "I will get the child!"
"Boss, no!" Marco shouted, stepping between Vincent and the door. "You are the target! If you step into the main hall without body armor—"
"Get out of my way, Marco!" Vincent growled, his eyes blazing with an ancient, terrifying fury. "They are in my house!"
Vincent didn't wait for a response. He racked the slide of his pistol with a loud metallic click, stepped to the secondary door behind the bookcase, and threw it open, disappearing into the hidden servant passages running inside the mansion walls.
Elina sprinted right behind him, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she could barely breathe.
The passage was narrow, dark, smelling of stone and dust. Up ahead, Vincent moved with astonishing speed, his heavy strides silent, his gun raised, sweeping every corner with lethal precision.
Below them, the sound of glass breaking and heavy boots stomping through the grand foyer echoed through the ventilation shafts.
"They cut the power!" Marco’s voice crackled through the small radio strapped to Vincent’s lapel. "Boss, we have four shooters in the grand foyer! They’re moving toward the east wing!"
"Hold the staircase, Marco!" Vincent barked into his radio, never breaking his pace. "Do not let them reach the basement stairs!"
They reached the hidden door leading into the lower kitchen corridor.
Vincent held up a hand, signaling Elina to halt. He pressed his ear against the cold wood paneling.
From the hallway outside, a rough voice shouted in a thick Brooklyn accent.
"Search the staff quarters! Valenti said if Moretti’s got any family or favorites, we use them to draw him out!"
Elina let out a muffled gasp.
Vincent’s jaw tightened into granite. He looked back at Elina, reaching out to grasp her shoulder with a firm, steady hand.
"Stay behind me," Vincent whispered. "No matter what happens, do not move until I tell you."
Elina nodded, her tears spilling over her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Vincent gripped the hidden release latch on the wall.
With one violent push, he slammed the hidden panel outward.
The heavy wooden door smashed directly into the face of a mercenary standing in the hallway, breaking his nose with a sickening crunch and sending him tumbling backward onto the tile floor.
Before the second gunman could raise his weapon, Vincent stepped out of the shadow of the wall.
Thwip. Thwip.
The suppressed pistol in Vincent’s hand barked twice.
The second gunman collapsed instantly, his weapon clattering harmlessly against the stone wall.
Vincent didn't even look at the fallen men. He sprinted down the lower corridor toward the staff quarters, his heavy boots echoing off the concrete walls.
"Sophia!" Elina screamed, breaking past Vincent and throwing open the door to the staff break room.
The room was overturned. Chairs were knocked over, coloring pages scattered across the floor, a box of purple crayons crushed underfoot.
The room was empty.
Elina fell to her knees, a guttural scream tearing from her throat. "SOPHIA!"
Vincent stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the floor, tracing a line of wet, muddy footprints leading away from the back door that opened toward the greenhouse gardens.
He looked out the broken window.
Through the dense, gray fog outside, two dark figures were carrying a small, thrashing form toward an idling black SUV parked near the broken greenhouse gate.
Valenti’s men had her.
Vincent’s blood turned to liquid fire.
He turned to Elina, his voice dropping into a register so dark, so terrifying, that it froze the air in her lungs.
"Elina," Vincent whispered, his eyes burning with a murderous light. "Stay in this room."
"Mr. Moretti... please..." Elina wept, grabbing his pant leg. "Save my baby..."
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Vincent leaned down, gently unclasping her hand from his trouser leg.
"I will bring your daughter back," Vincent said, his voice absolute as iron. "Or I will burn Brooklyn to the ground."
