Chapter 7 - The Breach at the Manor
The peaceful silence of the early morning was shattered by the distant, thunderous roar of automatic gunfire and the shrieking of security alarms across the estate.
Matteo reacted instantly. The grief and vulnerability vanished, replaced in a split second by the terrifying, cold lethal precision of a syndicate leader.
He crossed the room to a hidden wall safe behind a bookcase, pulled out two tactical handguns, and racked the slides with a sharp CLACK-CLACK.
“Marco!” Matteo barked into his lapel radio. “Initiate Lockdown Protocol Omega! Move all non-combat staff to the reinforced vault!”
“Understood, Don Varric! They’re using armored SUVs! They came in force!”
Matteo turned to Liana, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her toward a hidden panel behind the leather armchair. He pressed a recessed button, and a section of the wooden wall slid open, revealing a narrow, well-lit concrete staircase leading down into the foundations of the mansion.
“Take Clara down this staircase,” Matteo ordered, his eyes locked onto hers with fierce urgency. “At the bottom of the stairs is a heavy steel blast door. Enter the code 1024. Inside is a fully supplied panic room with satellite communications. Lock the door from the inside and do not open it for anyone except me.”
“Matteo, no!” Liana cried out, clutching Clara to her chest. “Come with us!”
“If I go into that vault with you, they will surround the room and starve us out,” Matteo said coldly, checking the magazine of his weapon. “Julian Moretti came here today because he knows the truth has been exposed. He wants to destroy the evidence—and that means he wants to kill you and the baby.”
Liana looked at him, her heart pounding with fear—not just for her daughter, but for the man who had protected them without hesitation.
“Matteo... please don't die,” Liana whispered.
Matteo looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. He reached out, his thumb gently stroking Clara’s soft cheek one last time.
“I thought I was saving a son,” Matteo said softly, a dark, dangerous smile touching his lips. “Turns out I was protecting my cousin and her child. I am a Varric, Liana. We do not let anyone touch our family.”
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He pushed her gently into the hidden passage. “Go! Now!”
The panel slid shut, sealing Liana and Clara inside the quiet concrete tunnel just as the sound of heavy boots and shattered glass echoed from the main hallway above.
