Chapter 4 - The Battle of the Estate
The south gates of the Marchetti estate exploded at 4:15 AM.
A fiery orange shockwave tore through the iron bars as three armored SUVs crashed through the perimeter, tires screeching across the cobblestone driveway. Dozens of heavily armed mercenaries poured out, weapons raised, spraying automatic gunfire toward the mansion's marble facade.
Inside the master suite, Adeline stood near the reinforced door, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. The sound of explosions and continuous gunfire echoed through the stone walls, shaking the crystal chandelier above her head.
Two Marchetti guards stood inside the room with her, their shotguns aimed at the door, their faces set in hardened, calm discipline.
"Don't worry, Miss Adeline," the younger guard, Lorenzo, said without turning his head. "The Don built this house like a fortress. Nobody gets up these stairs alive."
Downstairs, the grand foyer was a warzone.
Enzo stood at the top of the marble staircase, holding a heavy black assault rifle, firing with lethal, terrifying precision. Every shot he fired dropped a mercenary attempting to breach the main entrance. Beside him, Dante and twenty elite guards formed an impenetrable wall of fire, cutting down the invaders before they could reach the grand hall.
Arthur Ashford stood near the ruined front gates, wearing a long trench coat, screaming orders into a radio. "Get upstairs! Find the girl and kill her! Burn the whole damn place!"
Arthur was mad with desperation. He knew his political allies had abandoned him the moment the news of the poisoned champagne leaked to the Commission. His only chance of survival was to eliminate Enzo Marchetti and force a bloody truce before dawn.
"Boss!" Dante yelled over the deafening roar of gunfire, ducking as a volley of bullets shattered the stained-glass window above the door. "They brought a launcher! They're targeting the east wing!"
Enzo’s eyes widened in sudden, absolute terror.
The east wing.
Where Adeline was locked inside his suite.
"Cover me!" Enzo roared.
Abandoning his position of high ground, Enzo charged down the marble staircase like a demon unleashed. He didn't care about the bullets ricocheting off the stone steps around his feet. He didn't care about the three mercenaries pushing through the front doors.
He raised his rifle, clearing the hall in four continuous, brutal bursts, stepping over the fallen bodies as he sprinted toward the east staircase.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the upper floor.
BOOM!
The heavy oak doors of the master suite were blown off their hinges, spraying wooden splinters and dust across the hallway. Lorenzo and the second guard were thrown backward by the blast wave, lying unconscious on the floor.
Through the thick gray smoke, three mercenaries wearing tactical vests stepped into the suite, their boots crunching over shattered wood.
Adeline scrambled backward toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, clutching a heavy brass candlestick she had grabbed from the bedside table. Her eyes were wide with terror, but her hands were steady.
"There she is!" the lead mercenary barked, raising his pistol toward her chest. "Ashford said take no prisoners!"
"Touch her," a voice whispered from the smoke behind them, "and I will skin you alive."
The mercenary didn't even have time to turn around.
Enzo materialized out of the haze like a specter of death. He grabbed the lead mercenary's wrist, twisting it until the bone snapped with a sickening CRACK, forcing the man to drop his gun. In a single fluid motion, Enzo pulled a combat knife from his tactical belt and drove it into the second mercenary's throat, swinging his body around to use as a human shield as the third man fired wildly.
The bullets struck the dead mercenary’s vest.
Enzo stepped forward, ducking under a wildly swung punch, and delivered a devastating blow to the third man's jaw, sending him crashing through the glass coffee table, unconscious and bleeding.
Silence fell over the room once more, broken only by the sound of heavy, ragged breathing.
Enzo dropped the bloody combat knife onto the carpet. He didn't look at the dead men. He didn't look at his torn suit or the blood splatter across his shirt.
He looked at Adeline.
She was standing against the glass, breathing heavily, clutching the brass candlestick against her chest, her brown eyes wide as she stared at him.
Enzo took three rapid strides across the room, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her flush against his chest, burying his face in her hair.
"You're safe," Enzo growled, his whole body trembling with an adrenaline-fueled terror he had never felt in his entire life. "I have you. I have you, Adeline."
Adeline dropped the heavy candlestick. Her hands reached up, wrapping around his broad, muscular back, holding onto him as if he were the only solid thing in a world falling apart.
"I knew you'd come," she sobbed softly into his blood-stained shirt. "I knew you wouldn't let them take me."
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Enzo pulled back slightly, his large hands cupping her face, his thumbs wiping away the dust and tears from her cheeks. His dark eyes burned with an absolute, terrifying devotion.
"No one takes what is mine," Enzo whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "No one."
