Chapter 4 - The Attack Inside the Mansion
Marco pushed me behind Adrian's wheelchair.
“Stay down!”
I covered Lily's ears as another gunshot shattered the bedroom window.
Glass scattered across the carpet.
Adrian tried to move his chair backward, but his legs remained useless.
His face twisted with frustration.
“Marco, get them out!”
Two guards rushed inside.
One grabbed Lily while the other helped me toward the adjoining security room.
But the attacker was already inside.
A masked man appeared at the end of the hallway.
Marco fired twice.
The man ducked behind a marble pillar.
“Go!” Marco shouted.
I ran with Lily in my arms.
We reached the security room and locked the door.
Lily was trembling.
“Mommy, are the bad men coming?”
I kissed her forehead.
“No, sweetheart. You're safe.”
But I wasn't sure.
Through the security monitors, I watched guards moving through the mansion.
Then the camera showing Adrian's bedroom went black.
My heart stopped.
“Where is Mr. Romano?”
Marco's voice crackled through the radio.
“Someone's inside his room!”
I rushed toward the door.
“Don't move!” Marco shouted.
But I couldn't leave Adrian alone.
I had seen the tears on his face. I had watched his fingers move for the first time in six months.
I couldn't let him die.
When I reached the bedroom, I saw Adrian struggling to push himself toward the desk.
A masked attacker stood behind him.
The man raised a pistol.
I grabbed the nearest object—a heavy bronze lamp—and struck him across the shoulder.
The gun fell.
Adrian reached down.
His hand closed around it.
Not perfectly.
Not steadily.
But deliberately.
He aimed at the attacker.
“Get… away… from her.”
The man's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected the paralyzed mafia boss to move.
Marco rushed in and disarmed the attacker.
Within seconds, the man was on the floor.
Adrian dropped the weapon, breathing heavily.
I ran toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
He shook his head.
Then he looked down at his right hand.
“I moved.”
His voice cracked.
“I actually moved.”
For the first time, I saw hope in his eyes.
But Marco had discovered something disturbing.
The attacker carried no identification.
Instead, he had a small gold ring engraved with a familiar symbol.
A silver rose surrounded by flames.
Adrian stared at it.
“My father's symbol.”
Marco looked uncomfortable.
“Boss, there's something else.”
He handed Adrian a small device recovered from the attacker's jacket.
A recording was already playing.
A man's voice filled the room.
“Once the Miller girl arrives, eliminate her and the child. The Romano heir must never learn what Isabella left behind.”
Adrian went pale.
I whispered:
“Who is that?”
Marco answered quietly.
“Your future father-in-law.”
I stared at him.
“Victor Romano is dead.”
Marco nodded.
“Yes.”
Then he turned the device over.
A fresh recording date appeared on its screen.
Three days ago.
Adrian's eyes turned cold.
“My father is dead.”
He looked at the recording again.
“Then somebody is using his voice.”
Suddenly, a second voice emerged from the device.
Vanessa's.
“Don't worry. I'll make sure the girl never leaves the mansion.”
Adrian slowly raised his head.
May you like
His fiancée had known everything.
And she was still inside the house.
