Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Mercer Clan
The peace inside the Vale estate was short-lived.
In the criminal underworld of Chicago, word traveled fast. Cal Mercer—the ruthless patriarch of the Mercer family—was furious that Grant Hayes had accepted Dominic’s four-million-dollar buy-out instead of fulfilling his original debt agreement. To Mercer, the Hayes family had humiliated him, and Dominic Vale had openly challenged his authority on the South Side.
It was a crisp autumn afternoon when Nora took the four children to a private, gated conservatory near the lakefront. Dominic had insisted on sending two armed bodyguards, Marco and Sam, who trailed unobtrusively twenty yards behind them.
The children were laughing, chasing butterflies through the glass greenhouses. Julian was sketching exotic flowers in his notebook, while the twins held Nora's hands.
"Look, Nora! A red one!" Mia squealed, pointing at a tropical bird inside an enclosure.
"It's beautiful, sweetie," Nora smiled, bending down to fix Mia's jacket.
Suddenly, the peaceful glasshouse shattered into chaos.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Automatic gunfire ripped through the glass roof, showering the conservatory with deadly crystal shards. Visitors screamed, scrambling for cover.
Nora’s protective instincts flared instantly. "Down! Get down!" she shrieked, grabbing Mateo and Mia and throwing them under a heavy stone planter. She tackled Julian to the ground, shielding his body with hers, while reaching out to pull Leo into the safe zone beneath the concrete bench.
Marco and Sam drew their handguns, returning fire toward three masked gunmen in tactical gear who were advancing through the tropical garden.
"Miss Hayes! Get the kids to the back exit!" Marco yelled before being struck in the shoulder by a bullet, collapsing against a fountain.
"Leo! Take Julian and the twins!" Nora commanded, her voice fierce and clear despite the roaring terror in her ears. "Run through that emergency door! Don't look back!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Leo shouted, his dark eyes wide with fear.
"Leo, go! Protect your brothers and sister!" Nora ordered, shoving them toward the exit.
As the children scurried toward the reinforced metal fire door, one of the masked gunmen rounded the corner, raising an assault rifle directly aimed at Leo’s back.
"No!" Nora screamed.
Without a second thought, Nora threw herself into the gunman's path.
BANG!
A sharp, white-hot pain seared through Nora's shoulder. She gasped, the force of the high-caliber round throwing her backward onto the sharp glass floor. Blood quickly pooled beneath her coat, staining her white sweater crimson.
The gunman stepped closer, aiming at her head to finish her off. "Cal Mercer sends his regards, bitch."
Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, the glass doors behind him blew inward with explosive force.
Dominic Vale burst into the greenhouse like a localized hurricane. His face was a mask of apocalyptic fury. He fired three heavy rounds from his custom pistol, dropping the gunman instantly.
Dominic didn't even look at the dead assassin. He sprinted across the blood-slick floor, dropping to his knees beside Nora.
"Nora! Nora!" Dominic roared, his voice cracking with pure terror. He pressed his massive, shaking hands against her bleeding shoulder, trying to stem the flow. "Stay with me! Look at me, sweetheart! Keep your eyes on me!"
Nora looked up at him, her vision fading at the edges. She weakly raised a blood-stained hand, touching his jaw. "The... the children..." she gasped out, fighting for air. "Are they... safe?"
"They're safe! They're behind the door! You saved them!" Dominic sobbed, his tears dropping onto her cheek. "Hold on, Nora! Please, God, hold on!"
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As paramedics and Vale soldiers flooded the greenhouse, Dominic scooped Nora into his arms, holding her close against his chest, swearing a silent, deadly vow.
The Mercer family had drawn blood from the woman he loved. And Chicago was about to burn.
