Chapter 12
The heavy, reinforced oak doors of the grand foyer groaned under the impact of a breaching ram. The deafening, rhythmic thud echoed through the silent, red-lit mansion. Valentina crouched behind the massive, curved marble staircase, her weapon raised, flanked by six of her best shooters.
"Wait for the breach," Valentina whispered into her comms earpiece, her eyes locked on the straining wood. "Do not fire until they cross the threshold."
With a final, splintering crash, the heavy oak doors blew inward, torn off their heavy brass hinges. Smoke and dust billowed into the grand foyer.
Through the haze, the tactical silhouettes of the Chicago mercenaries poured into the room, their laser sights cutting through the smoke. They moved with professional, synchronized precision, expecting to catch the Morello guards scrambling.
"Now," Valentina commanded calmly.
The foyer erupted into a chaotic, deafening symphony of automatic gunfire. The Ravelli guards unleashed a devastating, coordinated crossfire from their elevated and entrenched positions. The leading element of the Chicago strike team was instantly shredded, their heavy body armor useless against the specialized armor-piercing rounds Valentina had supplied her men.
"Contact! We're pinned!" a mercenary screamed, diving behind a shattered mahogany console table.
Valentina didn't hesitate. She leaned out from behind the marble staircase, firing in short, controlled bursts. She dropped two advancing hostiles with ruthless accuracy, her face carved into a mask of pure, sociopathic detachment. She wasn't just defending her territory; she was slaughtering the men who had come to murder her three-year-old son.
"Push forward!" the Chicago team leader roared from the doorway, throwing a flashbang grenade into the center of the foyer.
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"Eyes down!" Thomas yelled over the comms.
Valentina ducked behind the marble just as the grenade detonated, the blinding white light and concussive shockwave rocking the foyer. Before the ringing in her ears could subside, she rolled out from cover and resumed firing, refusing to give the invading force a single inch of ground.
