Blood on the marble floor

The sound of breaking glass shattered the silence.

Adrian Moretti's eyes snapped open.

For a moment, he lay frozen in bed, staring at the darkness of his room. The mansion was usually quiet at this hour. His father valued discipline, and everyone in the house knew better than to make unnecessary noise after midnight.

Then came another crash.

This time, it was followed by a scream.

Adrian sat upright.

His heart immediately began to race.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for the pistol hidden inside the drawer of his nightstand. His father had insisted he learn how to use one years ago.

"Just in case," Vincenzo Moretti had always said.

At the time, Adrian thought it was excessive.

Now he wasn't so sure.

Another scream echoed through the mansion.

Closer.

Adrian tightened his grip on the weapon and stepped into the hallway.

The luxurious corridor was dimly lit by golden wall lamps. Expensive paintings lined the walls. Thick carpets softened every footstep.

Normally, the mansion felt like a palace.

Tonight, it felt like a tomb.

A gunshot exploded somewhere downstairs.

Adrian flinched.

The sound echoed through the entire house.

Then another shot followed.

And another.

His stomach dropped.

"No..."

He began moving faster.

As he reached the staircase, he saw movement below.

Several armed men dressed in black stormed through the grand entrance hall.

Their faces were hidden behind masks.

One of them fired at a security guard.

The guard collapsed instantly.

Blood spread across the white marble floor.

Adrian's breath caught.

This wasn't a robbery.

This was an execution.

The Moretti Mansion was one of the most heavily protected properties in the city.

Anyone foolish enough to attack it knew exactly what they were doing.

Someone powerful had planned this.

Someone powerful wanted the Moretti family dead.

Adrian ducked behind the railing as two gunmen rushed beneath him.

His mind struggled to process what was happening.

Who would dare attack his family?

Who would dare attack his father?

A sudden roar echoed from the lower floor.

"GET THEM OUT!"

Adrian immediately recognized the voice.

His father.

Vincenzo Moretti.

The king of the Moretti Syndicate.

The most feared man in the city.

Relief flooded Adrian's chest.

If his father was still fighting, there was hope.

Vincenzo wasn't a man who lost battles.

The crime world had learned that lesson long ago.

Adrian hurried downstairs.

The scene that greeted him looked like something from a nightmare.

Bodies lay scattered across the entrance hall.

Broken furniture littered the floor.

Bullet holes scarred the walls.

In the center of the chaos stood Vincenzo Moretti.

Even at fifty-two, he looked unstoppable.

A pistol in each hand.

Blood stained his white shirt.

His silver hair was disheveled.

Yet he stood like a king defending his throne.

Two attackers charged him.

Vincenzo fired twice.

Both men dropped instantly.

Adrian had never seen anyone move so fast.

For a brief moment, pride filled him.

This was his father.

The man everyone feared.

The legend.

Then Vincenzo saw him.

And everything changed.

The older man's expression twisted into something Adrian had never seen before.

Fear.

Not for himself.

For his son.

"ADRIAN!"

The shout thundered across the room.

"RUN!"

Adrian froze.

Run?

His father had never told him to run from anything.

A gunshot rang out.

Vincenzo staggered.

Adrian's eyes widened.

A dark stain appeared on his father's side.

Someone had shot him.

For the first time in Adrian's life, he saw Vincenzo Moretti wounded.

The impossible had happened.

"No!"

Adrian rushed forward.

Another bullet struck a nearby pillar.

Stone exploded beside him.

Vincenzo grabbed his arm.

His grip remained iron strong despite the injury.

"Listen to me."

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes locked onto Adrian's.

"You leave now."

"No."

"That's not a request."

"We can fight—"

"You don't understand."

The words came out sharp.

Urgent.

Desperate.

"They aren't here for money."

Another gunshot echoed.

"They aren't here for territory."

Vincenzo's face hardened.

"They're here for you."

Adrian felt ice spread through his veins.

For him?

Why?

Nothing made sense.

Before he could ask another question, a voice echoed from the shadows.

A slow clap.

Then another.

The room fell silent.

Even the gunmen stopped moving.

A figure stepped forward.

Tall.

Elegant.

Dressed in a black suit.

His face remained hidden beneath the darkness.

Yet something about him felt terrifying.

Not because of his appearance.

Because of his confidence.

The confidence of a man who believed he had already won.

Vincenzo's expression darkened.

"You."

The stranger smiled.

"So we meet again, old friend."

Friend?

Adrian stared.

His father had enemies.

Countless enemies.

But this man sounded personal.

The stranger's gaze shifted toward Adrian.

Interest flashed in his eyes.

"So that's the boy."

Every instinct in Adrian's body screamed danger.

The stranger studied him for several seconds.

Then he laughed softly.

"Amazing."

"What do you want?" Vincenzo growled.

"What I've always wanted."

The stranger's smile disappeared.

"Everything."

Gunfire erupted again.

Chaos returned instantly.

Vincenzo shoved Adrian backward.

"GO!"

The force nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Dad—"

"NOW!"

For one second, Adrian hesitated.

One second.

It would haunt him forever.

A shot rang out.

Then another.

Then a third.

Adrian turned.

And watched his father collapse.

The world stopped.

The gun slipped from Adrian's hand.

His knees felt weak.

This couldn't be happening.

Not to him.

Not to Vincenzo Moretti.

Not to the man who had survived decades of war.

"Dad..."

Vincenzo hit the marble floor.

Blood spread beneath him.

The king had fallen.

The stranger looked down at the dying mafia boss.

"No empire lasts forever."

Adrian couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Couldn't move.

A hand suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"Move!"

One of the family bodyguards.

Antonio.

The veteran guard dragged Adrian toward a hidden side passage.

Adrian fought him.

"No!"

"You have to leave!"

"My father—"

"Your father is dead if you stay!"

The words hit harder than any punch.

Antonio forced him through a concealed doorway.

Behind them, gunfire continued.

The hidden passage slammed shut.

Darkness swallowed them.

Adrian stood frozen.

His chest felt hollow.

His ears rang.

Somewhere beyond the wall, the battle continued.

But all he could see was his father's body lying on the marble floor.

The king was dead.

And whoever had killed him was now coming for the heir.

Far above the city, storm clouds gathered.

A new war was about to begin.

And Adrian Moretti had just become its most wanted target.

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