Chapter 4 - The Breach at Blackwood Manor
The storm hit Long Island at midnight.
Lighting slashed across the dark sky, illuminating the high stone walls of the Valenti estate in sudden, stark flashes of white. Rain pounded against the tall stained-glass windows of the third-floor suite.
In her bedroom, four-year-old Mia whimpered, clutching Mr. Whiskers—whose new emerald eye gleamed in the dark—tightly against her chest.
"It's just thunder, baby," Elena whispered, sitting on the edge of the small bed, stroking her daughter's dark hair.
Suddenly, a dull THUD echoed from downstairs, followed instantly by the sharp, terrifying crack of gunfire.
Elena gasped, her blood running cold.
Rex, who had been sleeping beside the bed, bolted upright, a deep, primal growl vibrating in his chest. His ears went flat against his skull.
"Mommy?" Mia whimpered, her eyes wide with terror. "Is the bad man here?"
Before Elena could answer, the bedroom door burst open.
Leo Vance rushed inside, a heavy submachine gun strapped across his chest, blood dripping from a small cut on his forehead. "Mrs. Brooks! Get in the panic room now!"
"What’s happening?!" Elena cried, scooping Mia into her arms.
"It’s the Boston crew—the O'Connors—and Moretti’s men!" Leo shouted over a loud explosion that shook the entire floor below. "They breached the south gate during the storm! They bypassed the security codes—someone gave them the internal frequencies!"
"Where is Adrian?!" Elena screamed.
"He's driving back from Brooklyn! He’s five minutes away!" Leo urged, pulling open a decorative oak wall panel behind the wardrobe to reveal a heavy steel door with a digital keypad. "Get inside! Code is 1104! Go!"
Elena sprinted toward the hidden door, but before she could punch in the numbers, three armed men in black tactical gear burst into the hallway outside.
"There they are!" one shouted, raising a rifle.
Rex didn't hesitate. The giant Doberman launched himself through the doorway like a black missile, his jaws locking onto the lead shooter's throat with vicious, terrifying force. The man screamed as he hit the floor.
Leo swung his weapon, firing a burst that dropped the second shooter, but the third man managed to fire a shot that hit Leo in the shoulder. Leo groaned, stumbling backward against the wall.
"Get in!" Leo choked out, bleeding heavily.
Elena scrambled to the keypad, her fingers trembling violently. 1... 1... 0... 4!
The heavy steel door clicked open. She shoved Mia inside the small, reinforced room. "Stay there, Mia! Don't look!"
The third shooter stepped over Leo’s fallen body, raising his handgun directly at Elena. "End of the line, sweetheart. Moretti sends his—"
BANG.
A single heavy gunshot echoed down the hallway.
The shooter’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward onto the carpet.
Standing at the end of the corridor, soaked in rain, holding a smoking custom gun, was Adrian Valenti.
His face was not human. It was a mask of absolute, apocalyptic vengeance. His coat was drenched, his dark hair plastered to his forehead, his eyes blazing with an unholy fire.
"Adrian!" Elena cried out, her voice breaking into hysterical sobs.
Adrian rushed down the hallway, ignoring the gunfire echoing from the floor below. He grabbed Elena, pulling her against his chest with crushing force, his dark eyes scanning her face frantically. "Are you hit? Did they touch you?"
"No! No! We're okay!" she sobbed, holding onto his wet suit jacket as if it were the only anchor in a storm. "Mia is in the room!"
Adrian looked inside the panic room. Mia was sitting on the floor, holding Mr. Whiskers, crying quietly.
Relief—profound, overwhelming relief—washed across Adrian’s features. He dropped to one knee, reaching inside the safe room to cup his daughter’s small face in his trembling, blood-stained hand.
"I promised you," Adrian whispered, his voice cracking with rare emotion. "I promised nobody would hurt you."
Mia looked at his face, then threw her tiny arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "You came back."
"I will always come back," Adrian said softly.
He stood up, his face hardening back into cold diamond as he looked at Leo, who was leaning against the wall, applying a pressure bandage to his shoulder.
"How many inside the house?" Adrian asked.
"Ten left," Leo grunted. "Dominic Moretti came himself, boss. He’s in the main study down below, searching your safe."
Adrian looked at Elena, his thumb gently wiping a tear from her cheek. "Stay in the panic room with Mia. Lock the door from the inside."
"Adrian, no!" Elena begged, grabbing his arm. "He has men! It's too dangerous!"
Adrian gently lifted her chin, meeting her gaze with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
"Elena," Adrian said softly. "Dominic Moretti helped kill your husband. He framed you inside my home. And tonight, he brought guns into the house where my family sleeps."
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He stepped back, turning toward the staircase as Rex trotted to his side, his dark coat stained with rain and blood.
"Tonight," Adrian murmured, "the Moretti family dies."
