Chapter 48
A figure burst out from a side passage, nearly colliding with Elizabeth.
He was a boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, rail-thin and dressed in the tattered, stained rags of a servant. Fresh blood streaked his face, his hands, his clothes, seeping steadily from wounds so deep Elizabeth could glimpse bone through the torn flesh.
His face was a ghastly white, his eyes wide with a primal terror, as if he'd just clawed his way out of hell itself.
He saw Elizabeth, froze for a split second, and then his pupils shrank. He summoned every last ounce of his strength to croak a single, desperate warning, "Run!"
The word had barely left his lips when two massive Dobermans shot out from the same dark passage behind him.
The dogs were clearly well-kept, their coats sleek and glossy over roiling muscles. Now, their eyes were bloodshot, saliva dripping from their jowls.
Their target was undeniably the boy. With jaws agape, revealing razor-sharp teeth and a low growl rumbling in their chests, they launched themselves forward like black lightning.
The boy, petrified, went weak in the knees, nearly collapsing to the floor.
That's when Elizabeth moved.
There was a fundamental kindness in this boy; even in his extreme terror, his first instinct was to worry about her safety.
Given her ability to intervene, Elizabeth made an instant decision to help. Besides, in the ensuing chaos, there was no guarantee she wouldn't become a target herself.
Her movement was a blur. Her right hand whipped to her waist, drawing the silver lady's pistol.
Two gunshots, so close together they sounded like one, shattered the deathly silence of the castle, their echoes ricocheting down the cavernous hallway.
The first bullet found its mark with surgical precision, drilling into the center of the lead Doberman's forehead. Its forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and its heavy body crashed to the ground. A brief twitch of its limbs, and it was still.
The second bullet, fired almost simultaneously, struck the second Doberman's neck, tearing through its carotid artery.
The dog let out a short, sharp yelp and staggered into the adjacent wall, spraying blood across the dark grey stone. It convulsed, slid to the floor, and, within moments, was also lifeless.
The entire sequence, from drawing her weapon to neutralizing two vicious attack dogs, had taken less than two seconds.
The thick, coppery smell of fresh blood instantly overwhelmed the previous foul odor, filling the corridor.
The boy sat slumped on the ground, staring dumbfounded at the two massive dogs that had been felled in an instant. He then looked up at the woman, whose composure was terrifyingly absolute, as if he were witnessing something beyond comprehension.
Dead silence.
Only the scent of blood spread through the air.
Then, the sharp, furious clicking of high heels on stone echoed from the depths of the passage the hounds had emerged from.
"Who?! Who did this?!" A shrill, enraged female voice shrieked.
Lilith stormed into view.
She was poured into a fire-engine-red dress that clung to her every curve, making her bronzed skin look even more sensual. Her dark curls were a wild mane, and the sadistic flush of excitement that had been on her face was now replaced by pure, unadulterated fury.
Flanking her were two bodyguards, their faces just as blank and ready for action.
When she saw her two beloved dogs lying in pools of their own blood, tears sprang to her eyes. Her grief was so profound, it was as if she had lost her closest kin. But when her gaze landed on the pistol still clutched in Elizabeth's hand, her eyes widened, the pupils burning with incandescent rage.
"Elizabeth! It was you?! You dare kill my General and my Queen?!" Lilith's voice was distorted with fury. She pointed a trembling finger at Elizabeth. "Do you have any idea how much effort I put into training them?! You goddamn bitch! Who gave you the balls to open fire on my property and kill my dogs?!"
She was practically apoplectic.
These Dobermans were her pets, raised from pups, personally trained to handle disobedient servants and to serve as her personal entertainment. They were vicious, a tool to display her power and cruelty.
She had only intended to use the runaway slave and her dogs to teach this audacious Elizabeth a lesson—to scare her, maybe even let her get roughed up a bit, to humiliate her.
She never, in her wildest nightmares, imagined that this seemingly useless woman would react so fast, act so ruthlessly, and shoot so accurately.
She had actually killed both of her precious Dobermans.
Elizabeth slowly lowered the hand holding the pistol, but she didn't holster it. The barrel remained pointed at the floor, poised to be raised again at a moment's notice. She met Lilith's blazing eyes, her tone laced with a hint of regret.
"Ms. Moretti, your pets were attacking me. I took necessary measures in self-defense. Is there a problem?"
She didn't even bother using the boy's life as a justification. She knew that for someone like Lilith, the life of a lowly servant was worth less than nothing. The only leverage she had, the only status Lilith had to respect, was Jacob's fiancée.
Lilith was rendered speechless by her excuse. The rage and murderous intent inside her erupted like a volcano.
"My General and my Queen are perfectly obedient! They would never have attacked you without my direct command!"
Elizabeth's voice was calm, almost breezy. "I wouldn't know about that, Ms. Moretti. From my perspective, they were charging directly at me. I couldn't exactly bet on them stopping short. I don't believe I did anything wrong."
"You insolent bitch!" Lilith shrieked. "This is the Moretti family! I make the rules here! You think I don't know why you fired? You just wanted to play the saint, killing my dogs for the sake of a worthless servant!"
"Elizabeth, even if my dogs were about to tear that slave to pieces, it's none of your damn business! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
She whirled on her bodyguards, her voice sharp. "Seize this woman who doesn't know her place! I'm going to make her pay for what she did to my General and my Queen!"
As the words left her mouth, the barrel of Elizabeth's gun slowly rose, no longer aimed at the floor, but leveled in Lilith's general direction. While not a direct aim, the subtle shift charged the air with the explosive tension of a lit fuse.
"Ms. Moretti," Elizabeth's voice was still quiet, but it carried a chilling threat. "I suggest you calm down. Is it really worth starting a fight with me here over two dead dogs and a servant?"
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the two bodyguards, who were now hesitating, clearly reluctant to advance on a drawn gun. Her eyes finally settled back on Lilith's face, twisted with rage. Her words were measured, but each one landed with the weight of a hammer blow. "Don't forget, I was brought into the Smith family by Jacob himself, and I am the woman he is about to formally marry. If you lay a hand on me here today, for any reason, you are slapping the Smith family in the face. You are provoking Jacob. Are you certain the Moretti family is prepared to face Jacob's wrath... all for the sake of your dogs?"