Chapter 6 - Crossfire
The courtyard fell into a deadly, electric silence. The wind rustled through the manicured hedges, carrying the faint scent of ozone and impending violence.
Dominic’s gaze swept over the scene: Victor standing tense near the doorway, Isabella shielding Lily, and Leo holding a single red rose in his small hand. The raw, animalistic fury in Dominic’s eyes flickered, replaced for a split second by a flash of stark, agonizing vulnerability.
He strode forward, his heavy boots crushing the gravel, and dropped down on one knee in front of Leo.
"Are you alright?" Dominic demanded, his voice thick, rough, and trembling with a strain he couldn't entirely mask as he grabbed Leo’s shoulders, checking him over for any invisible harm.
"I'm fine, Father," Leo whispered, shrinking back slightly from the blood on Dominic’s knuckles. "We were just... playing in the garden."
Dominic let out a long, shuddering breath, closing his eyes tightly for a single heartbeat before opening them and pulling his son into a fierce, protective embrace. It was a raw, desperate hug—the embrace of a man who lived every single day knowing his enemies would gladly strike at the only thing he loved in this world.
Isabella watched them, her heart twisting in her chest. All her anger, all her frustration at his cold rules evaporated, replaced by a sudden, profound understanding. Dominic Moretti wasn't a tyrant out of cruelty; he was a desperate father building an impenetrable fortress around his son because the world had already stolen everything else.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing sound cut through the air.
Crack.
A high-powered sniper bullet shattered the stone rim of the fountain inches from where Victor stood, sending shards of marble flying in every direction.
"Sniper! Get down!" Victor roared, drawing his weapon and lunging forward to push Isabella and the children toward the heavy oak doors.
Chaos erupted. Alarms blared across the estate, red security lights flashing along the perimeter walls. Armed guards scrambled to positions behind stone pillars, firing return shots toward the wooded ridge outside the iron gates.
Dominic didn't hesitate. With terrifying speed, he scooped Leo up into his arms, using his own broad shoulders as a shield. "Inside! Move!" he shouted over the gunfire.
Isabella grabbed Lily, running blindly as Victor shoved them through the heavy back doors just as a second bullet slammed into the wooden frame where they had been standing a second before.
They tumbled into the grand foyer, the heavy steel security shutters slamming down over the windows, plunging the interior into a dim, amber-lit emergency glow.
Isabella clutched Lily tightly, her breathing ragged, her whole body shaking. Leo was crying quietly into Dominic’s shoulder, terrified by the sudden violence.
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Dominic carried his son toward the reinforced panic room behind the main study, his face carved from granite, blood dripping slowly from a shallow graze along his forearm. But before he stepped inside, he turned his dark, blazing eyes toward Isabella.
"Stay behind me," Dominic commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Don't you dare let go of that child."
