Chapter 10
The silence inside the Vale estate was suddenly broken by the sharp, distant sound of shattered glass coming from the east wing. The bright, cinematic lighting of the mansion illuminated the beautiful, opulent corridors, creating a surreal, high-definition battleground. The enemy had breached the walls.
"Go! Now!" Sebastian roared, his voice booming with terrifying authority.
Tessa didn't hesitate. She picked up the hem of her silk robe and sprinted out of the library, running desperately toward the master suite and the hidden safe room. Her bare feet made no sound on the imported rugs, her heart pounding a frantic, terrifying rhythm in her chest.
Sebastian stepped out into the grand hallway, his firearm raised. His tailored suit jacket was gone, his sleeves rolled up, revealing the artistic tattoos on his forearms. He was a veteran of this world, moving with silent, predatory grace. The charming romantic was dead; the cold-blooded executioner was wide awake.
The staccato crack of suppressed gunfire echoed from the lower levels. The loyal bodyguards remaining in the house were engaging the intruders, fighting desperately to hold the choke points.
"Status," Sebastian demanded into the radio clipped to his collar.
"They are heavily armed, Boss. Professional mercenaries," a guard's voice crackled back, accompanied by the sound of returning fire. "They are pushing up the grand staircase. We can't hold them for long!"
"Fall back to the second-floor landing," Sebastian commanded, moving swiftly toward the tactical vantage point overlooking the foyer. "Draw them into the kill zone."
He reached the heavy mahogany railing of the balcony just as the first wave of Sterling-backed mercenaries breached the grand foyer below. The bright, luxurious chandelier lighting washed over them, exposing their tactical gear and heavy assault rifles.
Sebastian didn't wait for them to acquire targets.
He raised his weapon and fired three rapid, precision shots. The loud, deafening roar of his gun shattered the pristine quiet of the upper floors. Two mercenaries dropped instantly to the marble floor, neutralized before they even knew where the fire came from.
"He's on the balcony! Suppressive fire!" one of the intruders yelled.
A hail of bullets chewed into the mahogany railing and the priceless artwork on the walls behind Sebastian. He ducked smoothly into cover, his sharply defined jawline tight, his breathing perfectly controlled. He reloaded his weapon with terrifying speed.
He had the high ground, but he was vastly outnumbered. The trap had been brilliantly executed by the Sterling family, utilizing the chaos of the broken engagement to orchestrate a full-scale assassination attempt.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the western side of the estate, sending a shockwave through the floorboards. The lights flickered, plunging the cinematic brightness into momentary darkness before the emergency generators kicked in.
"Boss!" Marcus’s voice shouted through the radio, static heavily interfering with the signal. "They blew the power grid to the safe room! The vault doors won't lock manually! Tessa is exposed!"
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Sebastian’s blood ran completely cold. The tactical, calculated Mafia Boss vanished, replaced entirely by a desperate, enraged man realizing the woman he loved was defenseless.
He looked down at the heavily armed mercenaries surging up the grand staircase, blocking his path to the master suite. The war had arrived at his doorstep, and the absolute destruction of his world was just one bullet away. He tightened his grip on his weapon, stepping out from cover into the bright, unyielding light, preparing to walk through hell to save her.
