Chapter 8 - The Battle for Moretti Estate
The Moretti Estate in Bedford, Westchester County, stood like a stone sanctuary amidst two hundred acres of dense pine forest.
Surrounded by a twelve-foot stone wall equipped with infrared cameras, laser perimeter sensors, and twenty armed guards under Marcus’s direct command, it was the most secure private residence in New York State.
For three days, the estate became our world.
For three days, the dark, ruthless mafia king disappeared. In his place was a man learning how to be a father.
I spent mornings sitting on the plush carpet of the grand living room, letting Lily color my corporate briefs with pink and purple crayons. I learned that she hated broccoli, loved watching cartoons about magical horses, and possessed a razor-sharp wit that made even my hardened security guards smile.
And slowly, painfully, the ice between Naomi and me began to melt.
Late at night, after Lily was fast asleep in her custom-designed bedroom upstairs, Naomi and I sat by the roaring fireplace in the library, drinking red wine, talking about the five lost years. We spoke of her struggles, her victories, my regrets, and the undeniable, electric spark that still burned brightly between us.
She was no longer just the woman I had left behind; she was the heart of my existence.
But peaceful dreams do not last when monsters are hunting outside the gate.
On the fourth night, at two o'clock in the morning, the estate’s secondary alarm chimed with a low, silent red pulse on my bedroom console.
I was out of bed instantly, pulling on a dark tactical shirt and holster, striding down the hallway into the security room.
Marcus was staring at twelve digital monitors displaying the north perimeter wall.
“They cut the main power grid three miles back,” Marcus reported, his hands flying across the control keyboard. “Petrov’s main strike team just breached the north gate with heavy explosives. They’ve got thirty men, Boss. They’re coming through the woods.”
My eyes narrowed into two slits of cold steel.
“They think they’re ambushing a house,” I said smoothly, pulling a high-caliber assault rifle from the weapons rack. “Let’s show them they walked into a slaughterhouse.”
I sprinted upstairs to the master suite safe room, where Naomi was holding a terrified Lily in her arms.
“Julian!” Naomi gasped, standing up, her eyes wide with panic as she saw the rifle in my hands. “What’s happening?!”
I stepped into the safe room, grabbing Naomi by the back of her neck, pulling her face close to mine, pressing a deep, fierce kiss against her lips.
“Listen to me,” I said, looking into her amber eyes. “This room is constructed with four-inch reinforced titanium steel. It has its own oxygen supply and independent communications. You lock this door from the inside and you do not open it for anyone except me.”
“Julian... please be careful!” she sobbed, holding my face in her hands. “Don't leave us again!”
“I am never leaving you again,” I swore.
I looked down at Lily, who was watching me with wide, brave gray eyes. I knelt down, pressing a kiss against her forehead.
“Guard your mommy, little knight,” I whispered.
Lily nodded solemnly, hugging her stuffed rabbit tight. “I will, Daddy.”
My heart swelled with a force so terrifying it shattered every remaining fear in my body.
She had called me Daddy.
I stepped out of the safe room. The heavy titanium door slid shut with a pneumatic hiss, locking with three mechanical deadbolts.
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I turned around, faced the dark hallway leading toward the estate gardens, and pulled the charging handle of my rifle.
Tonight, Grigori Petrov was going to learn why the city feared the name Moretti.
