Chapter 6
"You're killing him!" Evelyn Hale shrieked, her voice reaching a shrill, manic pitch that shattered the heavy silence of the salon.
Driven by blind, irrational maternal instinct and a complete lack of self-preservation, the sixty-three-year-old woman lost her mind. She ignored the heavily armed capos and the terrifying aura of the Mafia boss. Seeing her son bleeding and broken among the ruined strollers, she directed her fury not at Massimo, but at the woman she blamed for this downfall.
Evelyn lunges toward Sofia again, her manicured hands extended like claws, intending to attack the pregnant woman as she was being carried toward the exit by the bodyguards.
"Get away from her!" a capo yelled, reaching for his sidearm.
Massimo moved faster. He intercepted Evelyn before she could take three steps. His massive, powerful hand shot out and intercepted her forearm, his grip bruising her fair, rosy skin instantly.
With a brutal, effortless twist of his deeply masculine frame, Massimo turns her completely away from his daughter. Using her own frantic momentum, he drives her backward with immense, terrifying force.
Evelyn hurtles backward across the polished floor, her high heels skidding uselessly out from under her. She flew directly into the tall favor-shelf display.
The impact was spectacular. The heavy wooden shelving unit tipped backward under her weight. Ribbon boxes tumble from the high shelves, raining down in a colorful cascade of satin and cardboard. Crisp paper gift bags scatter wildly across the floor, their elegant contents spilling out onto the carpet. The pastel fabric bunting tears loose from the ceiling with a loud ripping sound, fluttering down to drape over the wreckage.
Evelyn collapses beneath the tilted shelving, hitting the ground in a tangled heap of luxurious fabric, pearl jewelry, and ruined baby-shower favors. She gasped for air, entirely pinned beneath the debris, her aristocratic composure completely destroyed.
Once again, no dialogue was spoken during the violent interception. The sheer, uncompromising dominance of Massimo Caradonna commanded total silence.
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Instantly, the room shifted from a social gathering to a tactical lockdown. Bodyguards surround both Hales, drawing their concealed weapons and aiming them directly at the fallen mother and son. The laser sights of their pistols painted bright red dots on Adrian’s chest and Evelyn’s face.
Massimo stood in the center of the devastation, a towering monument of lethal authority. The bright, cinematic lighting caught the cold, unforgiving edge of his angular face. He slowly adjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt, the gold of his family signet ring flashing. He had protected his bloodline. Now, it was time to extract the information that would spark a war.
