Chapter 6 - A Masked Betrayal
Wood splinters and shattered glass rained down on the living room as thick smoke poured through the blasted doorway.
Dominic drew twin handguns from his shoulder holsters, firing repeatedly into the haze. Two tactical operatives wearing black uniforms collapsed in the entryway, but more men pushed past them, spraying automatic fire across the room.
"Hannah! Get them to the storm cellar under the kitchen!" Dominic shouted over the deafening roar of gunshots.
Hannah grabbed Lily and Grace, while Emma clung to her waist. She scrambled across the hardwood floor toward the kitchen, bullets splintering the cabinets above her head. She shoved the girls down into the hidden trapdoor beneath the kitchen island.
"Stay down! Don't make a sound!" she commanded, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She turned to rush back to Dominic's side, grabbing a heavy iron skillet from the stove. But as she stepped into the living room, she froze in horror.
Dominic was fighting three men at once in a brutal display of hand-to-hand combat. He snapped one operative's arm, disarmed another, and drove a combat knife into a third. But as he turned to reload his weapon, a figure stepped out from the smoke behind him.
It was Marco.
"Marco, behind you!" Hannah shrieked.
Dominic spun around, but it was too late. Marco raised a heavy silenced pistol and pulled the trigger twice.
THWIP. THWIP.
Bullets struck Dominic in the side and chest. He gasped, blood spurting from his mouth as he stumbled backward, collapsing onto the rug.
"Dominic!" Hannah screamed, dropping the skillet and rushing toward him.
Before she could reach his side, two heavy hands grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms against her back. She thrashed wildly, kicking and biting, but a heavy cloth soaked in chloroform was slammed over her mouth and nose.
"Easy, girl," Marco's voice rang out, cold and devoid of emotion. He walked over to Dominic's prone body, looking down at his bleeding boss. "You went soft, Dominic. You let a waitress and three screaming brats ruin twenty years of syndicate operations. Don Moretti offered me fifty million for the bloodline. I couldn't say no."
"You... traitor..." Dominic choked out, his vision fading as blood pooled beneath his body.
"Sleep well, Boss," Marco said, aiming his gun at Dominic's head to finish the job.
"No!" Hannah screamed through the chemical haze clouding her mind. With a final burst of desperate motherly strength, she slammed her heel onto her captor's foot, swung her elbow into his ribs, and threw her weight into Marco.
The sudden impact knocked Marco's aim off. The bullet struck the hardwood floor inches from Dominic's head.
Marco cursed, turning around and striking Hannah across the jaw with the butt of his gun. Darkness swirled around her eyes as her knees buckled.
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"Grab the kids from the cellar!" Marco barked at his remaining men as Hannah drifted into unconsciousness. "Load them into the helicopter! Don Moretti is waiting for us in Queens!"
The last thing Hannah saw before blacking out was Dominic's motionless body lying in a pool of dark blood on the velvet rug, his dark eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
