Chapter 7 - The Mastermind Unmasked
"Stay back!" Elena screamed, placing herself completely in front of Mia and Sophia, shielding both children with her body.
Victor laughed—a hollow, raspy sound that made her stomach turn. "Look at you, playing house in a mobster's basement! Did you really think you could run from me, Elena? Did you think this rich bastard could protect you?"
"You're a monster!" Elena spat, her eyes darting around the panic room for any kind of weapon.
"I'm your husband!" Victor roared, stepping forward and grabbing Elena violently by her hair, yanking her away from the bench.
Sophia began to wail in terror. Mia screamed, "Let go of my mommy! Let go!"
Victor kicked Mia away with his heavy boot, sending the three-year-old tumbling onto the concrete floor. "Shut up, you brat!"
That was the last mistake Victor Russo ever made.
CLANG!
The heavy steel panic room door was suddenly blasted open from the outside with a breaching charge.
Through the heavy smoke, a figure charged into the room like an unstoppable demon of war.
Alessandro Moretti didn't fire his gun. He dropped his rifle, grabbed Victor by the throat with both hands, and slammed him against the concrete wall with enough force to crack the stone.
"You lay a hand on my family," Alessandro roared, his dark eyes ablaze with demonic fury, "and I will tear your soul from your flesh!"
Alessandro delivered a bone-shattering knee strike straight into Victor's ribs, snapping three of them instantly. Victor dropped his gun, screaming in agony as he collapsed onto the floor.
Alessandro grabbed Victor by the collar, dragging his battered body out into the main hallway where Marcus and four guards stood waiting over the bodies of the defeated Lucchesi strike team.
"Tie him to the chair in the basement," Alessandro ordered Marcus, his breath coming in heavy, furious ragged gasps. "Make sure he stays conscious."
Alessandro turned around and rushed back into the panic room.
Elena was on her knees, desperately holding a sobbing Mia and a crying Sophia in her arms, shaking uncontrollably.
Alessandro dropped to his knees in front of them, wrapping his powerful arms around all three of them, pulling them tight against his chest.
"Shh... I'm here," Alessandro whispered, his voice cracking with intense emotion. "I've got you. I've got you. Nobody is ever going to touch you again."
Elena buried her face into the crook of Alessandro’s neck, weeping tears of pure relief as his heat and strength enclosed them like an indestructible wall.
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"You came..." Elena sobbed.
"I promised," Alessandro murmured, kissing her hairline, kissing Mia’s forehead, pressing his cheek against Sophia’s soft head. "I told you... somebody stays."
