Chapter 2 - The Ghost of the Manor
Lorenzo stepped over the lifeless body of Julian's enforcer. He was no longer the aging don returning home to a quiet evening; he was the apex predator, and he had just been cornered in his own den.
He stripped the tactical vest from the dead man and strapped it over his expensive tailored shirt. He took the man’s sidearm, a customized SIG Sauer, and racked the slide. The metallic snap sounded like a death knell in the confined space.
"Where are they positioned?" Lorenzo asked, his voice a low, gravelly rasp.
"Two downstairs guarding the foyer and the back patio," Sofia said, her eyes closed for a brief second as she mentally mapped the massive estate. "Three on this floor. One is Julian. The other two are sweeping the guest wings."
"Then we cut off the head first," Lorenzo stated.
They slipped out of the closet like phantoms. The bedroom was empty; Julian had moved out into the main hallway. The door was cracked open. Lorenzo crept toward it, his back pressed flat against the floral wallpaper Isabella had picked out in Paris. The memory tasted like ash in his mouth.
In the hallway, Julian was pacing, holding a secure satellite phone to his ear.
"I don't care if Tony says he left, he's not here," Julian hissed into the phone, rubbing his temples. "Call the perimeter guys. If the old man is tipped off, he might be bringing the calvary. I want a two-mile radius locked down."
Julian turned his back to the bedroom door.
Lorenzo raised his weapon, the red dot sight resting squarely between his nephew's shoulder blades. A single squeeze of the trigger, and the mutiny would be over. The empire would be secure.
But as his finger tightened on the trigger, a floorboard creaked to their left.
One of the sweepers had returned from the guest wing. The man saw Lorenzo and raised his weapon, opening fire.
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
The suppressed rounds chewed through the doorframe, showering Lorenzo and Sofia in wood splinters. Lorenzo dove forward, rolling across the Persian rug, and fired three rapid shots into the man's chest. The enforcer collapsed in a heap of blood and tactical gear.
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"He's here!" Julian screamed, diving behind a massive marble pillar at the top of the grand staircase. "Downstairs, get up here! Lock the house down!"
The element of surprise was gone. It was no longer an assassination. It was a siege.
