Chapter 3 - The Trap Sprung in the Study
The chaos downstairs erupted into full-scale violence within seconds.
Muffled shouts, the heavy thud of boots running across marble floors, and the unmistakable, terrifying crack of a silenced pistol echoed through the ventilation shafts. I clutched Leo tightly against my chest, whispering soothingly into his ear while my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Whoever had broken into the mansion hadn't just come to steal valuables; they had come to finish what Elena had started.
Footsteps rushed up the grand staircase—heavy, frantic, and multiple.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
They weren't Lorenzo's measured strides. These were intruders.
I backed away from the nursery door, frantically searching the room for a weapon. My eyes landed on the heavy brass fireplace poker sitting beside the decorative hearth. Slipping Leo carefully into the center of the padded crib—surrounded by extra pillows for safety—I grabbed the heavy metal poker with both hands, my knuckles turning white.
The doorknob rattled violently.
"Check the nursery! The boss is tied up in the study!" a gruff voice hissed from the hallway.
With a brutal kick, the nursery door flew open, splintering the wooden frame. Two masked men dressed in black tactical gear stepped into the room, silencer-fitted pistols raised and scanning the shadows.
The first man stepped past the rocking chair, his eyes locking onto the crib. "Found the kid. Let's finish—"
I didn't wait for him to finish. Channeling every ounce of grief, rage, and protective fury I had carried since losing my own daughter, I swung the heavy brass poker with all my might, catching him squarely across the side of his tactical helmet.
The man staggered sideways, crashing hard into the bookshelf with a muffled curse.
The second intruder spun around instantly, leveling his pistol directly at my chest. "You stupid bitch—"
Before he could pull the trigger, a thunderous roar echoed from the doorway.
Bang.
The second man’s shoulder exploded in a spray of blood, his weapon clattering harmlessly to the polished wooden floor as he collapsed in agony.
Standing in the shattered doorway was Lorenzo. His dress shirt was stained with blood—not his own—and his face was a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. He fired a second precise shot into the leg of the first intruder, dropping him instantly.
In less than three seconds, both armed hitmen were neutralized.
Lorenzo stepped over the groaning men, his chest heaving as he scanned the room to make sure Leo and I were unharmed. His eyes landed on me, wide-eyed and shaking, gripping the bloody brass poker like a lifeline.
"Are you hit?" Lorenzo demanded, rushing forward, his hands gripping my shoulders to check me over.
"I'm fine! I'm fine, look at the baby," I gasped, pointing toward the crib.
Leo was whimpering softly from the noise, but he was completely safe.
Lorenzo let out a ragged breath, pulling me into a protective embrace for a fraction of a second before turning his attention back to the bleeding intruders. He grabbed the lead hitman by the tactical vest, jerking him violently off the floor.
"Who sent you?" Lorenzo snarled, pressing the barrel of his pistol against the man's forehead. "Who gave you the security override codes?"
The wounded man coughed up blood, a twisted grin spreading across his face. "You... you're too late, Rossi... Elena already has the offshore flash drives. She’s at the private airstrip by now. The council... the council owns your shipping routes as of midnight."
Lorenzo’s face turned the color of ash.
May you like
He didn't hesitate. He tossed the unconscious man aside, grabbed my hand with an iron grip, and pulled me toward the hidden service elevator in the back of the nursery walk-in closet.
"We're going to the airfield," Lorenzo said, his voice lethal. "We end this tonight."
