Chapter 8 - The Fire of Vengeance
The grand marble hall echoed with the sharp sound of gunfire outside the heavy oak front doors.
Inside the reinforced underground vault beneath the mansion, Sarah held four-year-old Lily tightly in her arms. The vault was a bright, clean safe-room lit by warm LED panels, equipped with plush sofas, emergency supplies, and live security monitors mounted on the wall.
Lily hugged her gray stuffed rabbit, her small face buried in Sarah’s shoulder. "Is Uncle Dante fighting the bad men?" she asked softly.
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, kissing her daughter’s head. "Uncle Dante is protecting us, sweetie. Everything will be okay."
On the wall monitor, Sarah watched the live feed of the front courtyard.
Dante Marchetti stepped out onto the grand stone portico, illuminated by the bright afternoon sun. He stood alone, tall and unwavering in his black suit, his dark wavy hair catching the wind. Flanking him from the sides were twenty elite Marchetti enforcers armed with automatic rifles.
The three rival SUVs screeched to a halt on the gravel drive. Ten armed Moretti mercenaries spilled out, raising their weapons.
The lead mercenary, a scarred man named Victor, yelled across the courtyard. "Marchetti! Hand over Julian's bastard kid and your territory, or we tear this house apart!"
Dante didn't utter a single word of negotiation. His piercing gray-blue eyes locked onto Victor with lethal certainty.
Dante raised his hand and brought it down.
"Fire," Dante commanded flatly.
The courtyard erupted into a wall of synchronized, overwhelming firepower. The elite Marchetti guards laid down a devastating barrage, neutralizing the enemy mercenaries in less than twenty seconds. The rival vehicles were rendered useless, ruined under the sheer force of Dante's defense.
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Dante walked calmly down the stone steps, his shiny dress shoes clicking on the gravel. He stopped in front of the wounded lead mercenary, looking down at him with absolute disdain.
"Tell Don Moretti," Dante said, his voice cold as arctic ice, "that he made the fatal mistake of coming after my family. Tell him I am coming for his empire tonight."
