Chapter 6 - The Breach at Midnight
While the strike team was clearing Pier 42, a lone silver sedan sat parked down the road from the Serrano estate's secondary rear gate.
Inside the vehicle sat Marco Rossi—who had evaded the gas station surveillance team earlier by swapping cars—along with two mercenary hitmen he had hired independently from out of state.
Marco knew Moretti was a dead man the moment Damiano Serrano had taken an interest in the case. But Marco wasn't interested in loyalty to Moretti; he was interested in revenge and leverage. He knew that if he could break into the estate while Damiano’s main force was deployed at the harbor, he could snatch the housekeeper’s daughter and demand twenty million dollars from the Serrano family vault to secure her safe release.
"The primary team is hitting the docks right now," Marco muttered, checking his silenced tactical pistol. "Serrano took at least eight of his best men with him. The rear garden gate is guarded by only two junior sentries."
"Are you sure the kid is inside?" the driver asked, pulling on a black balaclava.
"She’s there," Marco spat. "Cut the fence power. We move in five seconds."
Using a heavy electromagnetic jammer, Marco disabled the perimeter sensors along the rear brick wall. The three men vaulted over the iron fence, landing softly on the manicured lawn of the rose garden.
They moved toward the glass patio doors of the east wing like shadows.
Inside the safe room beneath the nursery, Marina sat on a leather sofa, holding a sleeping Nina in her arms. Claire sat nearby, cradling baby Livia.
Suddenly, the red emergency light above the reinforced steel door began to flash silently.
Claire jumped up, her face turning pale. "The perimeter has been breached! The secondary alarm!"
Marina gasped, pulling Nina tighter against her chest. "They came here..."
Upstairs in the garden hall, the heavy glass doors shattered inward with a loud crash!
Marco and his two mercenaries burst into the hallway, weapons raised, sweeping the dark corridor.
"Check the rooms!" Marco barked. "Find the kid!"
Before his men could advance three steps, a figure stepped out from the darkness of the archway.
It was Dante.
He had not gone to the harbor; Damiano had ordered him back to the estate ten minutes earlier as a precaution. In his hands, Dante held a military-grade combat shotgun.
"You chose the wrong house, boys," Dante growled.
BOOM!
The deafening roar of the shotgun echoed through the grand corridor!
The lead mercenary was lifted off his feet, crashing backward through the shattered glass doors onto the patio!
Marco threw himself behind a marble pillar, firing his pistol frantically into the hall. "Fall back! Fall back!"
The remaining mercenary turned to run toward the lawn, but two Serrano perimeter guards emerged from the trees, tackling him into the rose bushes and disarming him in seconds.
Marco scrambled backward across the wet terrace, his gun empty, his knees scraped and bleeding. He looked up to see Dante standing over him, the smoking barrel of the shotgun pointed directly between his eyes.
"Please!" Marco screamed, raising his bloody hands. "Don't shoot!"
Footsteps sounded on the gravel path.
Damiano walked through the garden archway, his trench coat wet with rain, his expression absolute zero. He walked up to Marco, looking down at the terrified enforcer with absolute disdain.
"Did you really think I would leave my home unprotected?" Damiano asked, his voice low and smooth as silk.
Damiano turned to Dante. "Put him in the basement cell until the federal marshals arrive to collect Moretti. Let them share the same trial."
Dante grinned, hauling Marco up by his collar and dragging him away into the night.
Damiano turned and walked down the quiet corridor toward the safe room. He entered the security code into the digital keypad, and the heavy steel door clicked open.
Inside, Marina was holding Nina, her eyes wide with fear.
Damiano stepped into the room, looking at the safe, unharmed children. He walked over to Marina, reaching down to gently pat little Nina’s head as she stirred from her sleep.
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"It's over, Marina," Damiano said softly, his voice full of warmth and strength. "The threat is gone. All of it."
Marina let out a long, shuddering breath, buried her face in her hands, and wept tears of pure relief.
