Chapter 6 - The Wolf Returns
Before the intruder could step through the smoking breach, the distant, frantic pop of automatic gunfire echoed from the front courtyard below.
Shouts, the screech of tires, and the terrifying bark of Dobermans filled the air outside the mansion.
The intruder at the panic room door froze, his radio crackling wildly. "Abort! Abort! Moretti’s convoy just rammed the front gate! Get out of there now!"
The man cursed under his breath, abandoning the breach and turning to sprint back toward the master bedroom balcony.
Inside the panic room, Elise lowered her arms, coughing slightly from the acrid smell of C4 smoke. She pulled the blanket away from the twins, checking them frantically. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I want my daddy," Rosie sobbed quietly, trembling violently.
"He's here, sweetie. I promise, he's here," Elise whispered, though her own hands were shaking uncontrollably.
She stood up, walking over to the surveillance console. The exterior camera showed absolute chaos on the front lawn. Two black SUVs had smashed through the wrought-iron security gates, their doors flying open as Vincent Moretti and half a dozen heavily armed enforcers poured out.
Vincent didn't look like a grieving father or a cautious businessman anymore. He moved with the terrifying, predatory grace of a apex hunter. He wore a tactical vest over his dress shirt, a assault rifle gripped firmly in his hands, his face set in an expression of cold, unrelenting fury.
"Rocco, secure the perimeter! No one leaves the grounds alive!" Vincent’s roar echoed through the intercom system.
On the screen, Elise watched as Vincent sprinted up the grand front steps of the mansion, kicking open the main doors and disappearing inside.
She hit the manual release button on the safe room wall. The heavy steel door popped open with a hiss, and the smell of gunpowder and smoke drifted in from the ruined master suite.
"Elise!"
Vincent’s voice echoed down the hallway, frantic and raw—a sound so completely stripped of its usual icy composure that it barely sounded like him.
"We're here! In the panic room!" Elise called out, stepping out of the wreckage with Maisie and Rosie clinging to her hands.
A second later, Vincent appeared at the shattered doorway of the master suite. When his eyes locked onto his daughters unharmed, the weapon in his hands lowered. For a fraction of a second, the terrifying mob boss dissolved entirely, leaving only a father who had nearly lost everything.
He dropped his rifle to the carpet, fell to his knees, and scooped both girls into his arms, burying his face in their dark curls as his broad shoulders shook with a shuddering breath.
"Daddy!" Maisie cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.
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"I've got you. I've got you both," Vincent murmured, his voice thick with unshed tears. He looked up, his dark eyes finding Elise standing amidst the dust and splintered wood.
He didn't say a word, but as he reached out with one free arm, pulling Elise firmly against his side into the embrace alongside his daughters, Elise knew that the line between employee and outsider had been permanently erased.
