Chapter 6 - The Siege And The Sanctuary
“They blew the gates!” the security chief screamed over the phone, the sound of automatic gunfire crackling in the background. “There’s at least thirty of them, Boss! They’re breaching the perimeter!”
Gabriel didn't flinch. The cold, calculating mind of the Mafia Don immediately took over.
“Fall back to the reinforced doors,” Gabriel barked, his voice steady despite the chaos. “Initiate lockdown protocol Delta. Nobody gets inside the main house.”
He hung up the phone and turned to Olivia. The red strobe lights of the alarm bathed the living room in an eerie, pulsing glow.
“Olivia, you need to get down,” Gabriel ordered, grabbing her gently by the shoulders. “Stay away from the windows.”
“What is happening?” Olivia cried, clutching her pregnant stomach, her eyes wide with terror as the distant, muffled pops of gunfire echoed from the front lawn.
“Vincent Lucas realized Marcus failed,” Gabriel said grimly, drawing his weapon. “He knows we have the key, and he knows the poison was discovered. He’s making a final, desperate play for the estate.”
On the leather sofa, Edward struggled to sit up. The paralytic was still fading, leaving him weak, but the fierce determination in his eyes was unmistakable.
“The vault key,” Edward rasped, reaching a trembling hand toward Olivia. “Child… do you still have it?”
Olivia reached into her pocket and pulled out the heavy brass key, handing it to Gabriel.
Gabriel looked at it, his jaw tight. “I don't understand why Lucas is risking an all-out war for the shipping deeds. We have money. We can buy other ports.”
“It’s not just the deeds, Gabriel,” Edward coughed, fighting to keep his breath steady. “Sal’s vault… it doesn't just hold the ports. It holds the Romano Ledger.”
Gabriel froze. “The Romano Ledger? I thought that was destroyed ten years ago.”
“I lied to protect the family,” Edward confessed, gripping the edge of the blanket. “The ledger contains the names of every corrupt politician, judge, and federal agent on the East Coast. Sal was guarding it. Lucas wants it to blackmail the city. If he gets that ledger, the Rinaldi family is finished. He’ll have the power of the federal government behind him.”
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the foundation of the mansion.
The heavy oak front doors of the estate groaned under the impact, splintering slightly, though the reinforced steel frame held. Dust rained down from the crystal chandeliers above them.
“They’re breaching the main entrance,” Gabriel said, his eyes darkening. He looked at Olivia. She was trembling violently, her hands wrapped protectively around her swollen belly.
He couldn't leave them here. The living room was too exposed.
“Dad, can you walk?” Gabriel asked, rushing to the sofa.
“No,” Edward shook his head bitterly. “My legs are still asleep.”
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He holstered his gun, scooped his father up into his arms like a child, and looked at Olivia.
“Follow me,” Gabriel commanded. “Stay exactly behind me.”
Olivia nodded, terrified into silence, and followed Gabriel as he carried his father through the sprawling mansion. They hurried away from the front entrance, moving deeper into the private wings of the estate. The sounds of shouting and gunfire grew louder, echoing terrifyingly through the marble halls.
Gabriel led them into the master study. He set his father down in a heavy leather armchair, quickly walked over to the massive stone fireplace, and pressed a hidden mechanism beneath the mantle.
With a deep mechanical groan, the entire bookcase beside the fireplace swung open, revealing a dark, narrow stone staircase leading downward.
“The safe room,” Gabriel explained, pulling a flashlight from a nearby desk drawer. “It’s reinforced concrete. Even if they burn the house down, you’ll be safe down there.”
“What about you?” Olivia asked, her voice panicked as she noticed he wasn't stepping into the hidden doorway.
“I have to command my men,” Gabriel said, pulling his weapon out again. “If I don't coordinate the defense, Lucas will slaughter everyone in this house.”
“Gabriel, please!” Olivia cried, reaching out to grab his arm. “They’ll kill you!”
Gabriel looked down at her small, trembling hand on his dark suit jacket. He looked at her tear-streaked face, and for a terrifying second, the hardened Mafia Boss felt a profound, agonizing fear—not for his own life, but for hers.
“I am coming back for you, Olivia,” Gabriel promised softly, his voice thick with emotion. He reached up and gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I swear to you, no one is going to touch you or this baby.”
He turned to his father. “Dad, keep her safe.”
Edward nodded firmly. “Give them hell, son.”
Gabriel stepped back, hitting the button on the wall. The heavy bookcase began to swing shut, plunging Olivia and Edward into the darkness of the hidden staircase.
Olivia quickly clicked on the flashlight Gabriel had given her, the narrow beam cutting through the gloom.
“Come, child,” Edward said softly from the top of the stairs, leaning heavily on the stone wall as he forced himself to stand. His legs were shaking, barely supporting his weight, but the paralysis was finally breaking. “We must get to the bottom.”
Olivia hurried to his side, sliding her arm around his waist to support him. Slowly, agonizingly, they made their way down the spiral stone steps.
The air grew colder the deeper they went. When they finally reached the bottom, Olivia shone the flashlight on a massive, heavy steel vault door. She pushed it open with all her might, helping Edward inside.
The safe room was surprisingly large. It was stocked with bottled water, medical supplies, cots, and a bank of security monitors that were currently displaying the chaotic scenes happening upstairs in the mansion.
Olivia helped Edward onto one of the cots. She collapsed into a chair in front of the monitors, her breathing shallow and ragged.
On the screens, she could see Gabriel.
He was in the grand foyer, flanked by a dozen of his loyal guards, returning heavy fire against Lucas’s men who had finally breached the front doors. The mansion she had cleaned for weeks was being torn apart by bullets.
“He is a good man,” Edward whispered from the cot, watching his son fight on the screen. “He never wanted this life, Olivia. He took over the family to protect me when I had my stroke. He sacrificed his soul to keep me safe.”
“He is going to survive,” Olivia said fiercely, wiping her eyes. “He promised me.”
But as she spoke the words, a sudden, agonizing cramp ripped through her abdomen.
Olivia gasped, doubling over in the chair, clutching her stomach. The pain was blinding, sharp, and entirely different from the usual kicks of the baby.
“Olivia?” Edward asked, his voice filled with alarm as he struggled to sit up. “Child, what is it?”
Olivia looked down. A dark, wet stain was spreading rapidly across the front of her maternity uniform.
Her water had just broken.
May you like
Two months early.
“Oh my God,” Olivia sobbed, terror completely paralyzing her. “The baby. The baby is coming.”
