Chapter 6 - The Siege of Moretti Tower
The world exploded into motion.
In less than ten seconds, Dante transformed from a calm corporate executive into a lethal tactician. He grabbed a heavy Beretta pistol from a hidden compartment beneath his desk, slamming a fresh magazine into the grip with a sharp clack.
“Stay behind me,” Dante ordered, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the secure panic room built into the back of his office.
“No!” I pulled my hand free, stepping back. “Dante, the main security server is out in the open corridor! If they blow the power grid, they’ll lock us out of the building cameras, and your men won't know where the breach is coming from!”
Dante stared at me, his eyes wide with fury and disbelief. “I didn't bring you into this world to be a tactical asset, Cara! Get in the safe room!”
“I’m not hiding!” I snapped back, darting past him toward my desk where my laptop was still plugged into the master network. “If they want to take your empire, they have to get through me first!”
Before Dante could argue, the entire floor shuddered.
BOOM.
The heavy elevator doors at the end of the main hallway blew inward in a shower of sparks, shattered glass, and thick gray smoke. Emergency alarms began to wail overhead, flashing strobes of harsh red light across the white marble corridors.
Heavy combat boots pounded down the hallway. Shouts echoed in Italian and English.
Dante didn't hesitate anymore. He moved like a shadow, sliding behind a marble pillar just as a barrage of automatic gunfire chewed through the drywall where we had been standing seconds earlier.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Wood splinters and drywall dust rained down over my head as I scrambled under my heavy mahogany desk, pulling my laptop with me. My fingers flew across the keyboard, typing the emergency lockdown sequence into the master building grid.
Access Denied.
“Damn it!” I muttered. The intruders had already cut the primary server line. They were overriding our system from the floor below.
Across the room, Dante fired three precise shots down the hallway. A heavy thud echoed against the marble floor as one of the hitmen dropped, his weapon clattering away into the shadows.
“Cara! Move!” Dante shouted over the deafening roar of gunfire.
Two more men in tactical gear emerged from the smoke, their assault rifles raised, sweeping the room for targets. One of them spotted me huddled behind the desk and swung his barrel straight in my direction.
My heart stopped.
I didn't think. I grabbed the heavy, cast-iron stapler off my desk and hurled it with every ounce of strength I had straight at the gunman’s face.
It struck him squarely across the bridge of the nose. He staggered back with a curse, his rifle discharging harmlessly into the ceiling.
That single second of hesitation was all Dante needed.
Two rapid shots echoed through the office. The second gunman crumpled to the floor, motionless.
The smoke began to clear. Silence settled over the executive suite, broken only by the rhythmic wail of the fire alarms and the harsh, ragged breathing of the two of us standing amidst the wreckage.
Dante rushed across the room, dropping to his knees beside my desk. He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me up into a standing position, his eyes frantically scanning my body for any sign of blood.
“Are you hit? Are you hurt?” he demanded, his voice shaking—the first time I had ever heard absolute, naked terror in his tone.
“I’m fine,” I breathed, trembling from head to toe as I leaned against his chest. “I’m okay.”
Dante pulled me into a fierce, suffocating embrace, burying his face in my hair. For a moment, the mafia boss, the empire, the blood, and the bullets didn't matter. There was only the steady beat of his heart against mine.
Then, the secure radio on the desk crackled to life.
“Boss? Boss, do you copy?” Luca’s voice came through, heavy with static.
Dante pulled back just enough to grab the receiver, his voice returning to cold, lethal steel. “Report, Luca.”
“We’ve secured the lower levels,” Luca panted. “We caught the mole. It was your chief financial officer. He disabled the gate sensors and let the Rossi hit squad in through the loading dock. He’s talking now... and he gave us something big.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”
“The Rossi syndicate isn't just trying to kill you for revenge, boss,” Luca said grimly. “They’ve allied with the federal prosecutor handling Vanessa’s trial. They’re planning a coordinated raid on every single Moretti asset at dawn. They think you’re vulnerable because of the crash.”
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Dante looked down at me, his expression hardening into a terrifying, unbreakable resolve.
“They think I’m weak because I almost died,” Dante whispered, a dangerous smile touching his lips. “They’re about to find out how wrong they are.”
