Chapter 7 - The Siege of Astor Street
Ten minutes earlier, at the DeLuca estate, the quiet evening was shattered by a deafening explosion that rattled the stained-glass windows of the grand entrance.
Natalie was in Ava’s room, reading a bedtime story, when the floor shook beneath her feet. The estate's emergency lights flashed red, and the piercing blast of the perimeter alarms echoed through the hallways.
Ava shrieked, pressing her hands tightly over her ears and curling into a tight ball on her bed.
"It’s okay! It’s okay, Ava!" Natalie yelled over the siren, instantly throwing herself over the little girl to protect her from potential flying glass.
The heavy door to Ava’s room burst open. Mrs. Vance ran inside, her face pale with terror.
"They breached the main gates!" Mrs. Vance screamed. "A heavy truck rammed the security doors! There are armed men in the courtyard!"
"Where is Marco’s security team?" Natalie demanded, lifting Ava into her arms. Ava was hyperventilating, her body rigid with terror.
"They're engaging them in the garden, but there are too many!" Mrs. Vance shouted. "We need to get to the panic room in the basement!"
"Go! Go!" Natalie ordered.
Natalie cradled Ava tightly against her chest, wrapping a soft weighted blanket around the girl’s shoulders to dampen the terrifying sounds of automatic gunfire echoing from the floor below.
They ran down the rear service staircase, illuminated only by the pulsing red emergency lights. Below them, heavy footfalls and shouting filled the main hallway.
“Find the girl! Moretti wants the child!” a voice screamed from the foyer.
Natalie’s heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She pushed Mrs. Vance ahead of her toward the concealed steel door disguised as a wine rack in the subterranean cellar.
Mrs. Vance frantically punched the six-digit security code into the hidden keypad. The heavy steel door clicked and began to slide open with a loud hydraulic hiss.
Suddenly, a flashlight beam swung down the cellar stairs, catching Natalie in its glaring white light.
"Over here! I found them!" a mercenary shouted, raising his rifle.
"Get inside!" Natalie shoved Mrs. Vance and Ava into the dark steel panic room.
"Natalie, come on!" Mrs. Vance cried out, reaching for her hand.
Natalie looked back at the mercenary charging down the stairs. If she stepped into the panic room, the door would take eight seconds to seal—more than enough time for the gunman to throw a grenade inside or jam the heavy steel tracks.
Natalie reached for the internal emergency seal button on the outside control panel.
"Natalie, NO!" Mrs. Vance screamed.
"Keep Ava safe!" Natalie yelled.
She slammed her hand onto the manual lock button. The heavy steel door slammed shut instantly, sealing Mrs. Vance and Ava inside the impenetrable, air-filtered bunker.
Natalie turned around, grabbing an iron fire extinguisher mounted on the brick wall just as the mercenary reached the bottom of the stairs.
With a roar of pure protective rage, Natalie swung the heavy fire extinguisher with all her strength, striking the mercenary directly across the face. The man groaned and collapsed backward onto the concrete floor, dropping his rifle.
Natalie lunged for the weapon, but a second mercenary rounded the corner, grabbing her by her hair and slamming her violently against the brick wall.
Natalie’s vision flashed white. She fell to her knees, blood trickling down her forehead from a sharp gash near her hairline.
The second mercenary kicked the dropped rifle away and grabbed Natalie by her collar, hauling her up to her feet.
"Where is the DeLuca girl?!" he barked, slapping her hard across the face. "Open the door!"
Natalie spat blood onto his boots and glared at him with eyes full of pure defiance. "Go to hell."
The man snarled, raising his handgun to her forehead. "Last chance, bitch."
Before his finger could tighten on the trigger, a loud metallic crash echoed from the top of the cellar stairs.
A high-caliber bullet shattered the mercenary’s hand holding the gun. He screamed in agony, stumbling backward.
At the top of the stairs stood Damian DeLuca.
He was soaked in rain, covered in soot, and his eyes were no longer those of a man. He looked like an ancient deity of vengeance.
Damian descended the stairs like a storm, firing three rapid shots that eliminated the remaining mercenaries in the cellar.
He dropped his gun, rushed forward, and caught Natalie in his arms just as her knees gave out.
"Natalie! Natalie!" Damian sobbed, pulling her into his lap on the cold concrete floor. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it frantically against the wound on her forehead. "Look at me! Keep your eyes on me!"
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Natalie reached up with a trembling, blood-stained hand and touched his cheek. "Ava... Ava is in the panic room... she's safe..."
Damian lowered his head and wept, pressing his lips against her bloodied forehead. "You saved her... you saved my daughter again..."
