Chapter 5 - THE FIRE AND THE ROSEThe basement was filling with thick, black smoke.
Upstairs, the Ricci mercenaries had set fire to the library, trying to burn Marcone Manor to ashes.
Inside the subterranean wine cellar, Sophia stood in front of the grandfather clock. She pulled at the heavy wooden base with all her strength until the panel snapped open, revealing the iron box wrapped in dark blue velvet.
"Got it!" Sophia gasped, clutching the heavy box to her chest.
"Mama! It's hot!" Lena cried, clutching Sophia’s skirt as smoke began to billow through the cellar doorway.
"Hold onto Mama, sweetie! We're going to the panic room!"
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed on the stone stairs.
A tall Chicago mercenary holding a submachine gun stepped into the cellar, his face covered by a tactical mask. He spotted Sophia and the iron box in her hands.
"Well, well..." the mercenary sneered, raising his weapon. "Look what we have here. The little maid and her brat."
Sophia backed away, shielding Lena behind her body. "Don't come any closer!"
"Drop the box, lady," the mercenary ordered, taking a step forward. "Or I put a bullet in the kid first."
Sophia’s blood ran cold. She looked at the heavy iron box in her hands.
With a surge of fierce, protective rage, Sophia didn't drop the box—she hurled the heavy iron chest directly at the mercenary’s face!
CRACK!
The heavy iron box struck the mercenary square across the nose, shattering his mask and sending him stumbling backward, bleeding profusely.
"You bitch!" the man roared, aiming his gun at her.
BANG!
A single gunshot echoed through the cellar.
The mercenary froze, a look of shock crossing his face, before collapsing face-first onto the stone floor.
Standing behind him in the smoke stood Lorenzo.
His face was covered in soot, his shirt torn, blood dripping from a cut above his left eyebrow—but he was standing, tall and fierce, like a guardian demon rising from the underworld.
"Lorenzo!" Sophia sobbed out.
Lorenzo dropped his empty weapon, sprinted across the room, and scooped both Sophia and Lena into his arms, lifting them completely off their feet!
"I've got you," Lorenzo panted against Sophia’s hair, holding them tightly against his broad, muscular chest. "I've got you, my love. You're safe."
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"The house..." Sophia cried, her hands clutching his bloody shirt.
"Let it burn," Lorenzo growled, his hazel eyes locking onto hers through the smoke. "My empire isn't made of bricks and stone, Sophia. It's standing right here in my arms."
