Chapter 8 - Trial by Fire
The hallway was filled with smoke.
Men in tactical gear were moving through the shadows,
the silenced thuds of their weapons echoing in the dark.
I burst into the nursery,
scooping Emma out of bed just as the window shattered.
"Mommy!"
she cried,
clinging to my neck.
"Shh,
baby,
it's okay,"
I lied,
my heart racing so fast I thought it would burst.
I ducked into the service closet,
the small space where I used to hide my cleaning supplies.
It was a part of the house the attackers wouldn't know.
Outside,
I heard the sounds of a fierce battle.
Alessandro’s voice was a roar of command,
followed by the rapid fire of an automatic weapon.
I held my breath,
praying to a God I hadn't spoken to in years.
Suddenly,
the closet door was ripped open.
I prepared to scream,
to fight with my bare hands,
but it was Alessandro.
He was covered in soot,
his shirt torn,
but his eyes were burning with a terrifying light.
"I've got you,"
he said,
lifting us both out of the closet.
He carried Emma in one arm,
and used the other to guide me through the burning corridor.
We reached the underground garage,
where a black SUV was idling.
"Go,"
he said to his driver.
"Take them to the safehouse in Como."
"What about you?"
I asked,
grabbing his arm.
"I have to finish this,"
he said,
his face hardening.
"The Architect is in the house."
"Who is it?"
I asked,
my voice trembling.
He looked at me,
a look of profound betrayal in his eyes.
"It’s Don Ricci,"
May you like
"the man who was like a father to me."
***
