Chapter 7 - Siege of the Oyster Bay Estate
The storm outside had finally broken over the Long Island Sound, hurling sheets of cold, gray rain against the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the Rossi library. Lightning fractured the darkened sky, casting jagged, strobe-like flashes across the room that made the oil portraits on the walls look like living witnesses to our impending doom.
"How many?" Dominic demanded, rising from his kneeling position beside my chair with terrifying speed. He racked the slide of his Sig Sauer, the metallic snap echoing sharply through the quiet room.
"At least two dozen operatives," Enzo reported, tapping rapidly on his secure tablet as red tracking dots multiplied across the digital map of the estate grounds. "They bypassed the main security gates using a localized EMP generator. The internal generators kicked in, but our outer cameras are fried. They're coming up the cliffside path from the private beach."
Isabella Rossi didn't flinch. She stood tall near the massive stone fireplace, her face carved from stone, her fingers still working the beads of her rosary with mechanical precision.
"They want the box, and they want the girl," Isabella said, her voice entirely devoid of fear. "Victor Costa has always been a coward who sends mercenaries to finish his dirty work."
"He won't get past the courtyard," Dominic stated flatly, turning his dark eyes toward Enzo. "Activate Protocol Red. Seal the safe room in the basement, and move Clara down immediately."
"No," I said, pushing myself up from the velvet armchair despite the sharp, tearing pain in my ribs. My voice was shaky, but the raw fury burning in my chest completely overpowered the agony in my torso. I looked straight at Dominic. "I am not hiding in a basement while your house gets shot to pieces because of a bloodline I never asked for."
"Clara, this isn't a negotiation," Dominic snapped, stepping into my path. "Costa’s men aren't here to talk. They are professional black-ops contractors equipped with flashbangs and breaching charges. One stray round will—”
"I am Victor Costa's flesh and blood," I interrupted, my voice rising over the distant rumble of thunder outside. The realization tasted bitter, but it gave me an iron spine. "That means his men have orders. They were told to retrieve the ledger and capture me alive if possible. If I walk out onto that terrace, I buy you time to flank them."
"If you step out on that terrace, you'll be dead in three seconds," Dominic roared, his composure cracking for the first time as a rare flash of raw, unfiltered panic flickered across his dark eyes. He grabbed my arm, his fingers warm and iron-hard. "I didn't marry you, and I didn't take seven bullets for you, just to watch you hand yourself over to a monster!"
Before Dominic could finish, a tremendous explosion shook the foundations of the mansion.
The heavy oak front doors of the estate blew inward in a shower of splintered wood and flying iron hinges. Shouts echoed from the grand foyer—the sharp, unmistakable bark of suppressed submachine guns followed by the heavy thud of Rossi guards returning fire.
The war had arrived inside the house.
"Boss! They've breached the east corridor!" Enzo yelled over the din, drawing his secondary firearm from his holster. "We're cut off from the main staircase!"
Dominic cursed under his breath, abandoning any further argument. In a single fluid motion, he scooped me up into his arms, bridal-style, ignoring my gasp of surprise and the sudden strain on my stitched-up torso.
"Hold onto my neck," Dominic ordered, his voice brooking no argument as he turned toward the private service elevator hidden behind the library's mahogany bookshelves. "If you let go, I'll throw you over my shoulder."
Enzo punched the biometric keypad beside the bookshelf panel. With a low hydraulic hiss, the heavy wood wall slid back, revealing a reinforced steel elevator shaft plunging down into the subterranean levels of the estate.
As Isabella stepped inside ahead of us, her eyes met mine through the dim emergency light of the shaft.
May you like
"Welcome to the family, Clara," she said softly, just as Dominic hit the descent button and the steel doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of gunfire from the world above.
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