Chapter 9 - The Siege of Costa Estate
Chaos erupted in a matter of seconds.
Red emergency backup lights flared to life along the baseboards of the grand ballroom, casting long, eerie shadows across the marble floor. Shouts echoed from the hallways as armed guards scrambled to secure the exits.
"Get behind me!" Dominic barked, his arm shooting out to haul Clara flush against his side as two of Costa's personal bodyguards rushed out from the shadows near the fireplace with drawn sidearms.
Before they could raise their weapons, the tall French doors leading to the Atlantic terrace shattered inward in a shower of glass. Enzo and a half-dozen tactical operatives poured into the room in full matte-black gear, moving with ruthless, terrifying precision.
Three sharp cracks of suppressed gunfire echoed through the room. Costa's guards dropped their weapons and hit the floor, neutralized without a single civilian casualty.
Victor Costa didn't run. He stood his ground near the dead fireplace, his face carved with fury as he reached inside his tailored jacket for a hidden holster.
"Dominic!" Clara screamed, lunging forward as she saw Victor’s hand close around the grip of a silver revolver.
Dominic was already moving. He shoved Clara back behind a heavy oak pillar, drew his own weapon with fluid, terrifying grace, and fired a single shot that shattered the marble mantelpiece an inch above Victor's head.
"Drop it, Victor!" Dominic roared, stepping out from the shadows, his gun trained dead center on the older man's chest. "It's over."
Victor slowly pulled his empty hand out from his jacket, raising them both with a bitter, humorless smirk on his lips. Blood trickled from a minor glass scratch on his cheek.
"You think killing me or locking me away solves anything, Rossi?" Victor sneered, his eyes darting briefly toward Clara standing frozen behind the pillar. "The syndicate isn't just me. The board has already authorized a complete asset liquidation if I don't check in by midnight. Your precious wife is marked, Dominic. Even behind your fortress walls, she will never be safe as long as my blood runs through her veins."
Dominic's finger tightened on the trigger, his face a mask of cold, unmitigated rage.
"Then it's a good thing," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper, "that she took my name instead."
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Enzo stepped forward, slapping heavy titanium zip-ties around Victor's wrists before shoving him toward the broken terrace doors. "Transport is ready, Boss. Perimeter is secure."
Dominic didn't lower his weapon until Victor was hauled out of sight. Then, slowly, he turned around, dropped his pistol back into its holster, and walked back to where Clara stood shaking against the oak pillar.
