Chapter 8 - The Return
Alessandro didn't waste a single second watching his dog tear his greatest rival apart.
He lunged forward across the dirty office floor, scooping Emma up into his arms and pulling her tightly against his chest.
He turned his back on the carnage, shielding the child’s eyes from the brutal violence unfolding just feet away.
“I’ve got you,” Alessandro whispered fiercely into her hair, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. “You are safe now.”
Emma buried her face in his neck, her tiny arms wrapping tightly around him, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Bruno came,” she cried softly, clinging to him like a lifeline.
“Yes,” Alessandro replied, carrying her quickly out of the room and down the metal stairs, away from the blood and the death.
“Bruno came to save you.”
The warehouse was completely silent when they reached the ground floor; every single Rossi guard had been eliminated.
Marco stood near the entrance, covered in dust and gunpowder, nodding silently to his boss as he saw the child was safe.
They walked out into the cool night air, the fog still thick, the flashing red and blue lights of distant police sirens finally beginning to echo through the city.
Alessandro climbed into the back of his armored SUV, keeping Emma securely in his lap, refusing to let her go for even a single second.
A few moments later, Bruno limped out of the warehouse, his muzzle covered in blood, his breathing heavy and ragged.
He slowly climbed into the back of the SUV, resting his massive, bloody head directly onto Emma’s small knee.
Emma gently patted his head, entirely ignoring the blood, her tears finally slowing down.
“Good boy,” she whispered.
The drive back to the estate was incredibly quiet, the adrenaline slowly leaving Alessandro’s system, replaced by a profound, heavy exhaustion.
When the SUV pulled up to the front doors of the mansion, Sophia was already running down the stone steps, weeping hysterically.
Alessandro stepped out of the vehicle, carefully handing the small child into her mother’s desperate, waiting arms.
Sophia collapsed onto her knees on the driveway, burying her face in Emma’s neck, wailing with absolute, pure relief.
Alessandro stood watching them, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, a strange, incredibly hollow feeling settling deep in his chest.
He had saved them, he had destroyed his enemies, but he knew the brutal violence of the night would leave a permanent scar on the child.
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He turned and walked slowly into the mansion, leaving the mother and daughter alone in the courtyard, assuming they would pack their things and flee his dark world forever.
He retreated to his study, pouring himself a massive glass of scotch, sitting alone in the dark, waiting for the inevitable resignation.
