The De Luca mansion woke to war.
It started with a single gunshot that shattered the dawn. Servants screamed; guards ran down corridors slick with morning mist. Lorenzo was already moving before the echoes faded. He'd expected Marco to strike eventually, but not inside the house, not this early.
He strode into the hall, gun drawn, eyes hard. Two of his men were crouched behind the marble pillars, exchanging fire with shadows at the far end. "Report!" he barked.
"Marco's men, boss! They came through the north gate!"
"How many?"
"Ten… maybe more."
Lorenzo's mind calculated fast. The mansion was divided—his guards loyal, Marco's infiltrating from inside. Civil war under one roof.
He took cover behind the pillar, firing two precise shots. Both hit. The noise stopped briefly. Then came the rush of boots and the crash of breaking glass.
"Rico," Lorenzo said into his radio. "Get Isabella out. Now."
"East wing's blocked—"
"Then make a way."
---
In the east wing, Isabella heard the gunfire long before she understood what it meant. The windows rattled with each burst. She crouched behind the bed, clutching the silver key Lorenzo had given her.
The door slammed open—Rico appeared, face pale but steady. "We have to move, miss."
"What's happening?"
"No time. Follow me."
They slipped through a servant's passage that smelled of old dust and iron. Behind them came the roar of gunfire again—closer now. She flinched but kept running.
Rico led her down two flights of stairs into the wine cellar. He locked the door and handed her a small revolver.
"Just in case."
"I don't—"
"Point and pull," he said. "If anyone comes in who's not me or Lorenzo."
Then he was gone.
For a long moment, she stood in the dim light, heart hammering. Bottles lined the walls like silent sentinels, their shadows stretching long. She thought of her father, of the night she'd been sold, of how violence had followed her like a curse.
But this time, she told herself, she wasn't the victim.
---
Upstairs, Lorenzo pushed through the smoke and chaos. The air reeked of gunpowder and betrayal. He turned a corner and came face to face with Marco.
Both men froze.
"You couldn't stay away, could you?" Marco sneered, raising his gun.
"I warned you," Lorenzo said. "You crossed the line."
"You made me!" Marco shouted. "You took everything that was mine—the family, the respect, even her."
Lorenzo's voice was calm, cold. "You lost those things the moment you started trading lives like currency."
Marco's finger twitched. The muzzle lifted.
Lorenzo moved first.
Two shots echoed through the corridor.
Marco staggered back, blood blooming across his sleeve. His eyes widened—not fear, but disbelief. "You'd shoot your own blood?"
"I already have," Lorenzo said, lowering the weapon. "And I'll do it again if I must."
Before Marco could answer, Rico's voice crackled through the radio. "She's safe, boss. East side clear."
Lorenzo exhaled slowly. "Hold position. I'm ending this."
Marco's men were retreating now, dragging their wounded through the side exit. The mansion was scarred—walls pocked with bullets, the marble streaked with smoke. Lorenzo stepped over the fallen, his expression unreadable.
By the time the last echo faded, dawn had burned away the fog, leaving the sky cold and clear. The De Luca empire had survived the night—but barely.
---
In the cellar, Rico returned. "It's over," he told Isabella. "For now."
She followed him out into the corridor. The house looked different now—haunted. Smoke hung in the air; the scent of gunpowder clung to the walls. She stopped beside a broken painting, staring at the streaks of blood on the floor.
"Is this what power costs?" she whispered.
Rico didn't answer. He only led her toward the main hall where Lorenzo waited.
When she saw him—his shirt torn, face smudged with soot—something inside her shifted. He looked both fierce and exhausted, a man carved by violence and duty. Yet his eyes softened when they found hers.
"You're safe," he said simply.
She wanted to ask for how long, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she nodded.
He turned to his men. "Clean it up. No one speaks of this outside these walls."
Then, to her: "Come. There's something you should see."
---
He led her through the corridor to a locked door she'd never noticed before. Inside was a small chapel—dusty, candlelit, lined with old portraits.
"This was my mother's," he said quietly. "She believed every sin could be washed clean."
He looked at the altar for a long time before continuing. "I used to believe her. Until I realized some sins are the foundation of this house. They built it with blood."
She stepped closer. "Why show me this?"
"Because I want you to understand what you're part of now," he said. "Staying here means living in the shadow of war. You can still leave."
Her gaze met his. "If I go, they'll find me. If I stay… at least I'm not alone."
For the first time, he didn't have an answer.
The sun was already climbing when the last of the smoke cleared. The De Luca mansion stood wounded but upright — marble chipped, windows shattered, its proud silence broken. What had once been a house of discipline now breathed fear and exhaustion.
Lorenzo walked through the wreckage like a shadow. His men followed at a respectful distance; none dared speak. When he reached the great hall, he stopped at the staircase and stared up toward the portraits of his ancestors. The stern faces gazed back as if judging him.
"Family," he murmured bitterly. "Always the first word and the last excuse."
Rico approached. "We've secured the grounds. The wounded are being moved to the infirmary. Marco escaped through the north forest."
"Let him run," Lorenzo said. "He'll come back. He always does."
Rico hesitated. "He's not alone. Some of the younger soldiers went with him."
"That's their choice." Lorenzo's tone was final, but something in his eyes flickered — regret, maybe, or understanding. "Anyone who follows him knows where they stand now."
He dismissed his men and turned toward the east corridor. The heavy doors groaned open. Inside, Isabella sat by the piano, hands clasped in her lap. She looked up as he entered.
"Rico said you were hurt," she said quietly.
"Nothing that matters." He removed his gloves, revealing a cut across his knuckles. "How are you holding up?"
She managed a faint smile. "I stopped counting the gunshots after ten. Does that make me brave or just numb?"
He almost smiled. "Both."
Silence settled between them — not awkward, but heavy with everything they couldn't say. Then Isabella rose, walked to the table, and poured water into a glass. She held it out to him. "You should drink."
He accepted it, his fingers brushing hers again — the briefest contact, but enough to remind them both how fragile this moment of peace was.
"Why do you stay here, Lorenzo?" she asked softly. "You could leave this life. You're not like the others."
He looked down at the scarred floorboards. "Leaving doesn't erase blood. It just dries it slower."
She frowned, searching his face. "And me? Why save me, if mercy is weakness?"
He met her eyes — grey meeting brown, storm meeting earth. "Because you remind me of what I could've been before all this. Because you don't look at me with fear."
Her throat tightened. "I'm not sure I should."
"Then don't," he said quietly. "But stay alive. That's all I ask."
---
Hours later, the mansion fell into uneasy calm. Outside, workers cleaned the courtyard; inside, whispers replaced bullets. Lorenzo retreated to his study where maps and ledgers still lay open. Rico entered without knocking.
"We found something," he said. "A message in the barracks — Marco's handwriting."
Lorenzo unfolded the note. A single line, written in red ink: Blood binds us, but vengeance frees us.
He exhaled through his nose. "He's rallying them."
"Should we strike first?"
"No. He expects that." Lorenzo folded the note carefully. "We wait. Let him think I've gone soft. Then we end it."
Rico studied him. "You're changing, boss."
"Maybe," Lorenzo said. "But not enough."
---
That night, the house was quiet again. The smell of gunpowder had faded, replaced by rain and candle wax. Isabella couldn't sleep. She wandered through the corridor until she found herself standing before the chapel door again. The candles had burned low, shadows flickering over the painted saints.
She sat in the front pew, whispering to the silence. "If there's still a God in this place… watch over him."
Behind her, the door creaked open. Lorenzo's voice came softly: "He might say the same for you."
She turned, startled. He stood in the doorway, coat draped over his arm, eyes tired but gentle. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
She shook her head. "The quiet feels louder than the gunfire."
He came closer, sitting a few feet away. For a long time they said nothing. The candlelight painted their faces gold and shadow. Outside, thunder murmured on the horizon.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "I don't know what this place will become. I only know that as long as you're here, I'll fight to keep it standing."
She looked at him — truly looked — and saw the cracks beneath his armor, the man behind the myth. And for the first time since her nightmare began, she believed that safety might still exist, even in a world built on violence.