Chapter 6 - A Shadow Over the Estate
Panic rippled through the ballroom like wildfire.
Guests began shouting, women panicked, and security guards scrambled toward the doors.
Dominic didn't panic. He moved with absolute, terrifying precision.
In a fraction of a second, Dominic reached into his jacket, pulled a concealed weapon, and slammed the heavy barrel directly under Julian Vance’s chin!
Vance’s sneer instantly evaporated. His champagne glass shattered on the marble floor.
“One word,” Dominic growled, his eyes burning with an unholy fire. “Give me one reason not to paint this wall with your brains right now.”
“You... you can’t kill me here!” Vance stammered, his eyes wide with sudden terror. “The police—”
“I don't give a damn about the police,” Dominic growled. He looked at me over his shoulder. “Isabella! Get in the car!”
Harrison Vance’s security guards tried to reach for their weapons, but Dominic’s private undercover team inside the ballroom instantly drew their guns, pinning Vance’s men against the columns.
Dominic dragged Vance by his collar toward the exit, using him as a human shield. “If anything happens to my children, Julian, death will be the easiest part of your night.”
We sprinted out of the hotel onto the rainy street. Frank was waiting at the curb with the armored SUV, its engine roaring.
Dominic shoved Vance into the back floorboard of the SUV, slammed the heavy door, and jumped in beside me.
“Drive!” Dominic roared. “Frank, get team two on the comms!”
Frank slammed his foot on the accelerator, sending the heavy SUV roaring through red lights, tires screeching against the wet pavement.
“Comms are dead, boss!” Frank shouted over his shoulder. “They brought a signal jammer! The house security feed is blocked!”
I grabbed Dominic’s arm, my chest heaving with terrified, jagged breaths. “Lily! Leo! Oh God, Dominic, they’re in that house!”
Dominic pulled me into his side, holding me tight with one arm while keeping his gun pointed at Vance’s head with the other.
“Listen to me, Isabella!” Dominic commanded, his voice firm and steady despite the chaos. “I built that estate. Every room in that house has a reinforced steel panic shelter behind the walls. Leo knows the code. I trained him myself. He will take Lily there.”
“He’s six years old!” I cried out.
“He’s a Moretti!” Dominic shouted back, his eyes fiercely proud. “He will protect her!”
Meanwhile, at the estate...
Ten minutes earlier, inside the darkened nursery wing, six-year-old Leo Moretti sat at his small wooden desk, drawing a picture of a house with four people—himself, Lily, his father, and Isabella.
Suddenly, the lights flickered and died.
Downstairs, the muffled sound of silenced gunshots echoed through the grand foyer.
Lily sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. “Leo? Is it cookies cloud again?”
Leo stood up. His tiny shoulders tensed. He remembered the storm. He remembered his father’s words from two nights ago: ‘If the house ever goes dark and you hear loud noises, you take Lily to the wine cellar. You punch in 0-8-1-2. You don't open the door for anyone except me or Isabella.’
Leo walked over to Lily’s bed. He didn't cry. He didn't tremble.
“Lily,” Leo whispered calmly. “We’re going to play hide and seek.”
Lily giggled softly. “I like hide and seek!”
“You have to be super quiet, okay? Like little mice,” Leo said, taking her small hand.
He guided her out of the bedroom into the dark service hallway, avoiding the main staircase. He heard heavy boots stomping through the grand living room below.
“Search the west wing!” a rough, accented voice barked from downstairs. “Vance wants the kids intact!”
Leo’s heart hammered against his ribs, but he remembered how his father looked when he stood tall. He squeezed Lily’s hand and led her down the narrow servant stairs into the basement wine cellar.
In the back of the wine cellar, behind a heavy rack of aged oak barrels, was a metallic keypad hidden behind a false stone.
Leo stood on his tiptoes. His small fingers hovered over the buttons.
0... 8... 1... 2...
A quiet electronic click sounded, and a section of the stone wall slid open, revealing a small, climate-controlled room equipped with monitors, water, and leather chairs.
“Get in, Lily,” Leo whispered, shoving her gently inside.
Before Leo could step inside himself, a flashlight beam cut through the darkness of the wine cellar!
“Hey! I found them!” a heavy mercenary yelled, sprinting toward the barrels.
Leo didn't panic. He dove inside the panic room, reached for the internal emergency seal button, and slammed his palm against it!
The heavy steel door slid shut with a pneumatic hiss just as the mercenary crashed against the outside wall.
Inside the safe room, Lily looked at Leo, her eyes wide. “Leo... was that a bad guy?”
May you like
Leo sat down on the floor, pulled his little sister into his arms, and held her tight, just like his father had held him.
“Don't worry, Lily,” Leo said softly, looking at the security monitors showing the driveway outside. “My dad is coming. And he’s going to defeat them all.”
