Chapter 7
"Drop it, Natalie!" a voice roared from the shadows behind Lena.
Before Natalie could pull the trigger, a deafening spray of bullets shattered the plaster walls of the corridor. Natalie's two mercenaries dropped instantly, their bodies hitting the floor with heavy thuds. Natalie shrieked, diving behind a thick marble pillar as the gunfire ceased.
Lena spun around. Emmett stood at the top of the servants' staircase. He was covered in sweat and dust, a deep gash bleeding profusely over his left brow, but his dark eyes burned with an unholy, terrifying rage. He held an assault rifle, smoke still curling from the barrel.
"Emmett!" Lena cried, her voice cracking with sheer relief.
"Get behind me, Lena," Emmett ordered, his voice cold and commanding. He descended the stairs with lethal grace, keeping his rifle trained on the marble pillar where Natalie was hiding.
Lena scrambled up a few steps, pressing her back against the wall, but she kept the silver handgun raised, her hands shaking violently.
"It's over, Natalie," Emmett called out, his voice echoing in the blood-stained corridor. "Your men are dead in the foyer. Marcus has secured the perimeter. You are the last one breathing in my house."
A bitter, hysterical laugh echoed from behind the pillar. "You think you've won? You think my father will stop here?"
"Your father is dead," Emmett stated flatly. The words hung in the air like a death sentence. "I sent a team to his compound the moment you breached my gates. He took a bullet to the head ten minutes ago. The Voss syndicate is broken."
Silence fell over the corridor, save for the distant, dying echoes of gunfire outside. A ragged gasp came from behind the marble.
"You're lying," Natalie hissed, though the absolute terror in her voice betrayed her.
"Step out and look at my face, Natalie. Tell me if I look like I'm lying," Emmett said, stepping closer to the pillar, closing the distance to execute her.
Suddenly, Natalie lunged from her cover, but she didn't aim at Emmett. With wild, desperate eyes, she pointed her suppressed pistol directly at Lena on the stairs.
"If I lose everything, so do you!" Natalie screamed, pulling the trigger.
Time seemed to slow to a terrifying crawl. Emmett roared, throwing his massive body directly in the path of the bullet. The suppressed gunshot was a quiet thwip, but the impact was devastating. Emmett grunted violently as the bullet tore through his shoulder, spinning him backward. He hit the stairs hard, his assault rifle clattering out of his hands.
"Emmett!" Lena screamed, absolute horror ripping through her throat.
Natalie smiled, a deranged, triumphant grin, and stepped forward to finish the mafia boss. She racked the slide of her pistol, aiming down at Emmett's bleeding chest.
"Servants don't get to be loved," Natalie mocked, echoing her cruel words from the night before.
Before Natalie could fire, a sharp, deafening BANG echoed through the narrow corridor.
Natalie froze. Her eyes went wide with shock. The suppressed pistol slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the marble floor. She looked down at her chest, where a blossoming stain of dark red was spreading rapidly across her black tactical shirt.
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She swayed for a moment, her eyes finding Lena one last time, before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.
Lena stood on the stairs, both hands gripping the silver 9mm handgun. Smoke drifted lazily from the barrel. She was breathing in ragged, gasping sobs, staring at the woman she had just killed.
