CHAPTER 2 — The Bullet Was Never Meant for the Mafia Boss... It Was Meant for the Girl Who Saved Him
A tiny red dot settled on Emma's hoodie.
She didn't notice.
Vincent did.
Even through the haze of blood loss, his instincts exploded to life.
"GET DOWN!"
He threw himself off the bed.
The window shattered.
CRACK!
A sniper round tore through the room, missing Emma's heart by inches before burying itself in the wall.
Emma screamed as Vincent tackled her to the floor.
More shots followed.
Glass rained everywhere.
Outside...
The silence ended.
Dozens of black-clad bodyguards flooded the street.
Automatic gunfire erupted from every direction.
The quiet neighborhood became a battlefield in seconds.
Emma looked at Vincent in disbelief.
"What is happening?"
Vincent's face turned ice cold.
"They're not trying to finish me."
He looked at the shattered window.
"They're trying to erase the only witness who kept me alive."
The apartment door burst open.
Emma grabbed a kitchen knife.
Instead of assassins...
A giant man in a black suit entered and immediately dropped to one knee.
"Boss..."
Tears filled his eyes.
"We thought you were dead."
More than thirty armed men followed, lowering their weapons and bowing their heads.
No one spoke until Vincent gave a single command.
"Protect her."
The bodyguards looked confused.
Protect... a stranger?
Vincent repeated himself, louder this time.
"From this moment on, Emma Carter's life is worth more than mine."
Every man in the room froze.
No boss had ever spoken those words.
Not for family.
Not for allies.
Not for anyone.
Emma stared at him.
"You don't even know me."
Vincent answered quietly,
"I know enough."
"You saved me when you had every reason to walk away."
"I've spent twenty years surrounded by people who wanted my money, my power, or my death."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"You're the first person who wanted nothing."
For the first time in years...
The feared mafia boss smiled.
A real smile.
But before another word could be spoken...
One of his captains rushed inside carrying a sealed envelope stained with blood.
"Boss..."
"We found this in the wreckage."
"It was addressed to... Emma Carter."
Emma frowned.
"My name?"
She had never seen the envelope before.
With trembling fingers, she opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
A newborn baby wrapped in a hospital blanket.
Standing beside the infant...
Was a much younger Vincent Moretti.
On the back of the photo, someone had written six chilling words:
"She was always meant to find you."
Emma's face turned pale.
"I've... never seen this before."
Vincent slowly looked from the photograph...
To Emma...
Then back again.
For the first time in his life...
The man who ruled an empire felt genuine fear.
Because the attack that night...
Had never been about revenge.
It had been about preventing Vincent and Emma from ever meeting.
And somewhere in the shadows...
Someone smiled.
May you like
"The game has finally begun."
END OF CHAPTER 2...
Related Stories
