Chapter 73 Chapter 73
Hailey’s POV
We ran blindly through the chaos, the four of us stumbling over debris and dodging bullets that seemed to come from every direction. The beautiful home that had felt like a fortress just hours ago was now an open battlefield, with walls blown out and enemies pouring in through every entrance.
Tears streamed down my face as I ran, my pregnant belly making me slower, more awkward. Behind me, I could hear Benita sobbing, her breathing ragged with panic. She kept falling, her legs giving out from fear and exhaustion, and I had to keep pulling her back up.
“Keep moving!” I screamed at her. “Don’t stop!”
Sophia was with us, but she looked completely disconnected from reality. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and unfocused, like she’d just woken up from a nightmare only to find herself in a worse one.
“Sophia!” I shouted at her as we ducked into a hallway. “Sophia, snap out of it!”
But she just stared ahead, her mouth moving soundlessly, like she was trying to process something her brain couldn’t accept.
We rounded another corner and nearly ran straight into more gunfire. I yanked Benita and Sophia back just as bullets chewed up the doorframe where we’d been standing.
“We need to find somewhere to hide!” Benita sobbed. “We can’t keep running like this!”
She was right. We were exhausted, terrified, and running out of places to go. The house was crawling with armed men, and it was only a matter of time before we ran straight into them.
“There!” Sophia suddenly said, her voice hoarse. She pointed down a side hallway. “The safe room. There’s a safe room down there.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, but I was already moving toward it, pulling Benita with me.
Sophia followed, and we ran down the hallway, our footsteps echoing against the marble floors. Behind us, I could hear men shouting in what sounded like Italian, coordinating their search.
We reached a door that looked heavier than the others, reinforced steel hidden behind an ordinary wooden facade. Sophia punched in a code with shaking hands, and the door clicked open.
We tumbled inside, and I immediately slammed the door behind us, engaging the locks.
The room was small and windowless, with concrete walls and minimal furniture. Emergency supplies were stacked along one wall, medical kits, water, some weapons.
For a moment, we just stood there breathing hard, the sounds of gunfire and explosions muffled but still audible through the thick walls.
Then I turned to Sophia, and all the fear and confusion I’d been feeling crystallized into rage.
I slapped her hard across the face.
The sound echoed in the small room, and Sophia’s head snapped to the side, her hand flying up to her cheek.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I screamed at her. “Snap out of it! We need to think! We need to figure out how to get out of here!”
Sophia blinked, and I saw focus returning to her eyes. She looked at me, then at Benita, then at the locked door behind us.
“There’s a backdoor,” she said quietly. “Through the ventilation system. It leads to an underground tunnel that comes out about half a mile from here.”
“Then let’s go!” Benita said immediately. “What are we waiting for?”
Sophia moved toward the vent cover on the far wall, and I was about to follow when a sound made us all freeze.
The door handle rattled.
We stared at it, terror paralyzing us. The locks were engaged. They couldn’t get in. They couldn’t….
But then we heard Tyler’s voice, muffled but clear. “I know you’re in there, ladies. And I have the override code.”
“No,” Sophia breathed, her face going even paler. “No, that’s impossible. Only family members know that code.”
But even as she said it, we heard the electronic beep of buttons being pressed, and the lock disengaged with a heavy click.
The door swung open, and Tyler walked in, a gun in his hand. And behind him was someone I’d never seen before, a man in his thirties with cold eyes and a cruel smile.
“I know.” The stranger said, his voice carrying a heavy Italian accent. “The little birds thought they could hide in their cage.”
Tyler moved to block the vent, cutting off our escape route. His expression was completely different from the friendly tutor I’d known. There was no warmth, no kindness. Just cold calculation.
“How could you, Tyler?” Sophia whispered, and I heard genuine betrayal in her voice.
Tyler actually laughed. “How could I? Sophia, you stupid girl. I’ve been playing you from the very beginning. You thought you were using me, manipulating me, but really? I was the one pulling your strings.”
“What?” Sophia breathed.
“Did you really think it was coincidence that I approached you?” Tyler continued, clearly enjoying this revelation. “That I just happened to be at that hotel? That I just happened to be willing to kill for you?”
He gestured to the man behind him. “Meet Luca Morelli. My actual boss. The man I’ve been working for this entire time.”
Luca smiled, stepping forward. “Miss Sophia, you made this so easy. So desperate to get rid of your father’s new woman, so willing to believe that some random guy would murder for you just because you promised him money and freedom.”
Sophia looked like she’d been punched in the gut. “But you… you said…”
“I said whatever you needed to hear,” Tyler interrupted. “I pretended to attack you so you’d think you had leverage over me. I let Marco beat me up so I’d look like a victim. And then I let you release me, thinking you were so clever, so in control.”
He turned to look at me, and his expression hardened.
“And you made it even easier,” he said. “Inviting me into your home. Trusting me. Giving me access to everyone and everything.”
I felt sick. This whole time, every tutoring session, every friendly conversation, it had all been a setup.
Tyler looked back at Sophia. “I revealed to the Morellis that you were planning to kill Hailey. I told them when and where. And they decided to use your little murder plot as cover for something much bigger.”
“The raid,” I whispered.
“Exactly,” Luca said, his smile widening. “While you were focused on your petty revenge, we were planning to eliminate the entire Alejandro bloodline. Your father, your grandmother, you, and of course…” He looked at me, his eyes dropping to my pregnant belly. “The future heir.”
Benita whimpered beside me, and I grabbed her hand, squeezing tight.
Luca took another step forward, raising his gun. “You, Miss Hailey, are one hard fly to kill. We’ve tried so many times. The shooting at your school. The attack outside the compound. And yet you keep surviving.”
He turned slightly to look at Benita. “And you, Miss Benita. You’re just an incessant bug. Buzzing around, getting in the way. But not for much longer.”
He leveled the gun at us, his finger moving to the trigger.
This was it. This was how we died. Trapped in a safe room that had become our tomb, betrayed by someone we’d trusted, facing execution at the hands of our enemies.
I thought of Damien. Wondered if he knew what was happening. Wondered if he’d arrive in time to at least avenge us.
I squeezed Benita’s hand tighter and closed my eyes.
The gunshot was deafening in the small space.
But I didn’t feel any pain.
I opened my eyes to see Tyler stumbling backward, a perfect bullet hole in the center of his forehead. He collapsed to the ground, dead before he hit the floor.
Luca spun around, bringing his gun up, but another shot rang out, and blood exploded from his shoulder, making him stagger.
And there, standing in the doorway, was Marco.
He was wounded badly, blood soaking through his shirt from multiple injuries. His face was pale, and he was breathing hard. But his gun was steady, and his eyes were clear and focused.