Chapter 5 - The Siege
The peace shattered two nights later.
Clara was in the kitchen warming a bottle at 2:00 AM when the estate's alarm klaxons blared. It wasn't a standard security breach; it was a rhythmic, high-pitched wail that meant an armed assault was underway.
Gunfire erupted from the front gates, heavy and rapid.
"Doc!" Dante sprinted into the kitchen, a customized assault rifle in his hands, blood smeared across his cheek. "The Falcones. They breached the outer wall. We need to get you and the boy to the panic room. Now!"
Clara didn't panic. Her medical training kicked in, turning her blood to ice. She grabbed the half-warm bottle, sprinted to the nursery, and scooped a startled Luca from his crib, wrapping him tightly in a thick blanket.
Dante flanked her, laying down suppressing fire out the hallway windows as they moved toward the center of the estate. Glass shattered around them, raining down like diamonds.
Matteo appeared at the end of the hall, wearing tactical gear over his dress shirt, a handgun in each grip. He looked like the devil himself.
"Are they hit?" Matteo roared over the gunfire.
"We're fine!" Clara yelled back, shielding Luca’s head with her body.
Matteo grabbed her arm, hauling her behind a reinforced steel door hidden behind a bookshelf in his study. He pushed her and Luca inside, but stopped at the threshold.
"Lock it from the inside," Matteo commanded, his eyes wild and lethal. "Do not open it for anyone but me."
"You're not coming in?" Clara asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"I have to end this. If they get into this house, they won't stop until my son is dead." Matteo leaned in, his lips brushing fiercely against her forehead. "Keep him safe, Clara."
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He slammed the heavy steel door shut. Clara heard the magnetic locks engage.
For three hours, Clara sat in the dim light of the bunker, rocking a crying Luca, listening to the muffled, terrifying sounds of warfare happening directly above her head. She hummed the same lullaby she used to sing to Mia, praying to a God she hadn't spoken to in three years to let Matteo Romano survive the night.
