Chapter 9 - BRUNO’S REVENGEMatteo didn't raise his voice. He leaned casually against the stone balustrade of the upper balcony, looking down at Bianca as if she were a mild inconvenience.
"You always did overestimate your intelligence, Bianca," Matteo said, his voice carrying effortlessly across the grand foyer. "The council didn't vote me out. They gave me permission to clean house."
Bianca’s face twisted in rage. "Kill him! Kill them all!"
The four mercenaries raised their rifles toward the upper balcony. But before they could pull the triggers, Matteo gave a sharp, distinctive whistle.
It wasn't a human command. It was the alpha call.
Bruno didn't wait for a second invitation. With a ferocious roar that echoed like thunder through the hall, the 150-pound cane corso leaped straight over the upper balcony railing, clearing a fifteen-foot drop, and landed squarely on top of the lead mercenary like a living avalanche of muscle and fury.
Gunshots echoed wildly, shattering crystal chandeliers as chaos erupted. Clara gripped her iron poker, ducking behind a marble pillar as Matteo systematically neutralized two of the mercenaries with cold, surgical precision.
The fourth mercenary managed to swing his rifle toward Clara, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Clara! Down!" Matteo shouted.
Before Matteo could fire, Bruno—having already disarmed the first attacker—charged across the marble floor with terrifying speed, slamming his massive shoulder directly into the mercenary's knees. The man shrieked as he went down, his weapon clattering across the floor right into Clara’s waiting hands.
Without hesitating, Clara stepped forward, brought the heavy iron poker down squarely on the mercenary's wrist, and knocked him unconscious.
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Silence descended on the grand foyer as quickly as the violence had begun.
Bianca stood alone in the center of the room, her tactical backup incapacitated, the heavy briefcase slipping from her trembling fingers. She looked up to see Matteo walking slowly down the grand staircase, his gun lowered, followed closely by Clara and a panting, victorious Bruno.
