Chapter 7 - The Trial in the Library
The corridor was a chaos of gunfire and smoke. Adriano retreated toward the library, his revolver hot in his hand. He had hit one of the gunmen, but the other two were moving with military precision, keeping him pinned down behind the heavy double doors.
"Get the kids!" one of the men roared from the hallway.
"No!" Adriano yelled, stepping out from behind the door and firing three rapid shots.
One of the bullets found its mark, hitting the second gunman in the chest. The man collapsed against the wall, his rifle clattering to the floor. But the third gunman—the one who had held Vanessa at gunpoint—was already at the door of the master bedroom.
He kicked the door open.
Adriano ran down the corridor, ignoring the splinters of wood and glass that cut through his socks. He reached the doorway of his bedroom just as the gunman raised his rifle toward the bed where Noah and Liam were hiding under the blankets.
"Hey!" Adriano screamed.
The gunman turned, but Adriano was already upon him. He slammed his body into the man’s waist, throwing both of them over the low table in the center of the room. The rifle went off, the bullet shattering the crystal chandelier overhead, sending a rain of sharp glass over the floor.
They wrestled in the dark, the gunman’s hands finding Adriano’s throat, squeezing with a brutal, crushing strength. Adriano’s eyes blurred, his lungs screaming for air. He reached out with his hand, his fingers sweeping across the floor until they closed around the heavy brass leg of the broken table.
He swung it with everything he had left.
The brass hit the side of the gunman’s head with a dull, heavy thud. The grip on Adriano’s throat loosened, and the man fell sideways, unconscious and bleeding onto the carpet.
Adriano lay on his back, gasping for air, his chest heaving.
"Daddy?" a small, trembling voice asked from the bed.
May you like
Adriano forced himself up, his limbs shaking as he crawled to the bedside. He pulled the blankets back, revealing Noah and Liam, their faces pale but unhurt.
"I’m here," Adriano gasped, pulling them close. "I'm here. You're safe."
