Chapter 11 - The Sins of the Father
Carlo stepped into the nursery, pushing David forward with the barrel of the gun.
"Close the door, Adrian," Carlo ordered, a cruel smile twisting his scarred face. "Slowly."
Adrian didn't move. His entire body tensed, radiating a lethal, calculating energy. "You took three rounds to the chest in the penthouse, Carlo."
"Kevlar is a beautiful thing," Carlo coughed, a wince of pain betraying his bravado. "I played dead until the Romanos cleared out. Then I paid them a visit."
"Why?" David demanded, stepping between Carlo and the crib where Charlotte was sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the danger. "Thomas Rossi is dead. The war is over."
"The war is never over," Carlo sneered. "Evelyn promised me a cut of the casinos, but she got greedy and left me to die. So I went to the Romano Don. I told him the truth about the 'miracle baby' Walter saved from the fire thirty-seven years ago."
My blood ran cold.
"You told them Adrian isn't a Romano," I whispered.
"I told them he's Thomas Rossi's bastard spawn," Carlo laughed softly. "The Romanos were furious. Walter humiliated them. He used a fake bloodline to trick them into fighting his war. The Don wants all three of you dead. But he's willing to pay me five million to do it quietly, right here in the nursery."
"You're not walking out of this room, Carlo," Adrian said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"I have a gun pointed at your brother's spine, Adrian," Carlo countered. "And if you twitch, I shoot the wife. Then I shoot the kid."
Carlo raised his free hand and tossed a heavy, black duffel bag onto the floor.
"Put your weapons in the bag, Adrian," Carlo commanded. "Then you and David get on your knees. Nice and easy."
Adrian hesitated. He looked at me, then at David. The unspoken communication passed between the brothers instantly.
Slowly, Adrian reached into his jacket. He pulled out his handgun and dropped it into the duffel bag.
David raised his hands in surrender, slowly dropping to his knees.
"Good boys," Carlo chuckled.
"Rachel," Adrian said softly, never taking his eyes off Carlo. "Step away from the crib."
I didn't want to leave my baby, but the intense command in Adrian's voice compelled me. I took two slow steps backward toward the window.
"Now you, Adrian," Carlo instructed, aiming the gun at Adrian's head. "On your knees."
Adrian slowly began to kneel.
As his knee touched the plush carpet, Adrian didn't surrender. He lunged.
He didn't lunge at Carlo. He lunged at the heavy mahogany changing table beside him, flipping it violently into the air.
The massive piece of furniture crashed directly into Carlo.
The gun went off. THWIP.
The suppressed bullet shattered the window behind me, raining glass down on the floor.
David didn't waste a second. As Carlo stumbled backward under the weight of the table, David tackled him around the waist, driving the wounded guard into the nursery wall.
Carlo roared in pain as his bruised ribs took the impact, but he was a trained killer. He brought the butt of his pistol down hard on David's back, dropping my husband to the floor.
Carlo raised the gun to finish David off.
Before he could pull the trigger, Adrian was there.
Adrian grabbed Carlo's gun hand, twisting it upward with a sickening crack. Carlo screamed, dropping the weapon.
Adrian didn't stop. He delivered a brutal, punishing sequence of blows to Carlo's face and chest, driving the man to his knees. Years of mafia training, combined with the desperate fury of a man protecting his newfound family, unleashed a terrifying violence.
With a final, devastating strike to Carlo's temple, the guard collapsed onto the carpet, completely unconscious.
Adrian stood over him, breathing heavily, his knuckles bleeding.
David scrambled to his feet, rushing over to me. "Are you okay? Did the glass hit you?"
"I'm fine," I gasped, burying my face in his chest. "I'm okay."
Charlotte finally woke up, letting out a loud, piercing cry at the chaos. I ran to the crib, scooping her up and holding her tight.
Adrian picked up his gun from the duffel bag, checking the chamber. He looked at David, then at me.
"The Romanos know," Adrian said grimly. "If Carlo is here, their hitmen are already surrounding the estate. We have to leave. Now."
"We can't just run," David argued. "This is our home. We have security."
"Security loyal to the highest bidder," Adrian corrected. "We don't know who we can trust. We grab Walter, we get to the underground garage, and we drive until we're out of state."
I held Charlotte tight against my chest. "Where do we go?"
"We disappear," Adrian said.
We rushed out of the nursery, leaving Carlo bleeding on the floor. The mansion was eerily quiet. Too quiet.
We sprinted down the grand staircase toward Walter's room on the first floor.
"Dad!" Adrian called out, bursting through the oak doors.
The room was empty. The bed was made.
"Where is he?" David panicked, checking the bathroom.
"He was just in the ballroom an hour ago," I said, my heart sinking.
Adrian ran to the window, pulling back the heavy velvet curtains. He looked out over the front driveway of the estate.
His face drained of all color.
"Adrian?" David asked, stepping up beside him.
I looked out the window.
Parked in the circular driveway were five black SUVs. Fifty armed Romano soldiers stood in a perfect, terrifying semi-circle around the front doors of the mansion.
And standing alone in the center of the driveway, facing the army with nothing but his wooden cane, was Walter Santoro.
The Romano Don stepped out of the lead SUV, a cruel smile on his scarred face.
Walter had known they were coming. He had known the lie was exposed. And he had gone out to face them alone to buy us time to escape.
"No," Adrian breathed, his hand gripping the window frame. "No, you stubborn old fool."
Adrian turned, raising his gun, preparing to run out the front door and die beside his father.
"Adrian, stop!" David yelled, grabbing his brother's arm. "It's a suicide mission! You can't save him!"
"He's my father!" Adrian roared, tears welling in his eyes.
"He's my father too!" David shouted back, tears matching his twin's. "And he's doing this so we can survive! If you go out there, Charlotte dies!"
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Adrian froze, looking at the tiny baby in my arms.
Outside, the Romano Don raised his hand, signaling his men to aim their weapons at the old man in the faded brown cardigan.
