Chapter 16 - The Final Stand in the CellarThe air filled instantly with the acrid, choking stench of cordite and sweet spilled vintage wine. Glass shattered like rain as bullets chewed through the antique racks, sending decades-old Chianti flooding across the stone floor in rivers of deep crimson.
Vincent ducked behind a massive stone pillar, returning fire with cold, practiced efficiency. Two of Viktor’s mercenaries crumpled instantly, hit cleanly in the chest. The remaining guard tried to swing his rifle toward Isabella, who stood frozen on the steps, but Lev kicked a heavy wooden crate directly into the man’s shins, sending him crashing backward onto the jagged glass.
Viktor, gasping for air as Lev’s wire bit deep into his collar, clawed desperately at his neck before collapsing unconscious onto the wine-soaked floor.
The shooting stopped as abruptly as it had started.
Heavy silence rushed back into the cellar, broken only by the dripping of expensive wine and the sharp, ragged breathing of the men. Vincent dropped his empty magazine onto the stone, slammed a fresh one into his firearm, and sprinted up the stairs past the fallen guards.
He dropped to his knees in front of Isabella, pulling her violently into his arms, burying his face in her dark hair.
"Are you okay? Did they touch you?" Vincent demanded, his voice cracking with raw, unadulterated terror.
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Isabella nodded slowly, her arms wrapping around his neck. She held up the battered cassette recorder, which was still playing the faint hiss of her mother's voice.
"Mommy kept us safe, Daddy," she whispered.
