Chapter 7 - The Uninvited Guest
The peace didn't last. The ambush at the park was traced back to Emilio Falcone, the ruthless leader of a rival syndicate seeking to seize control of the Brooklyn docks. Falcone had realized what the rest of the underworld was beginning to whisper: Rico Moretti had developed a lethal weakness—the young nanny who held his son's heart.
One evening, while Rico was off-site conducting an emergency sit-down with borough capos, an alarm sounded across the compound.
The perimeter power was abruptly severed, plunging the mansion into backup emergency lighting. Marco, the former restaurant manager who had secretly taken Falcone's bribes, had disabled the security relays on the east gate.
Clara snatched Leo from his bed, bolting toward the secure panic room built behind the library wall. But before she could punch the keypad code, heavy footsteps echoed behind her. Marco stepped out of the shadow, armed with a silenced pistol, flanked by three masked mercenaries.
"Quiet, Miss Vance," Marco sneered. "Mr. Falcone wants the boy. Cooperate, and you might walk away."
Clara stepped backward, shielding Leo behind her skirt. "You let a monster into this home. Rico will tear you apart."
"Rico isn't here," Marco snarled, signaling his men forward.
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Clara struck. She hurled a heavy brass globe from a nearby console directly into the first guard's face, buying three seconds to shove Leo inside the reinforced panic room and slam the hydraulic lock button from the outside.
A mercenary grabbed Clara's hair, striking her across the face with the butt of his weapon. As darkness closed in, she saw the heavy steel door seal Leo safely away.
