Chapter 5

The whir of the helicopter rotors faded completely into the night sky.

The vast Corleone estate was now as silent as a tomb.

To ensure Sophia's absolute safety during the transport, Lorenzo hadn't just taken the "Shadow Guard"; he had even pulled every single Soldato from the estate.

All he left me were a few elderly servants and a mansion so empty it was unnerving.

Clutching the hastily bandaged gauze on my forehead, I sat in the old leather chair my father had left behind, staring at the pitch-black night outside. The instinct of prey being stalked sent a chill down my spine.

News traveled too fast.

The Don had left New York, taking his elite forces with him, leaving a wounded Mama to guard an empty fortress.

For the rival families who had been lying in wait, this was an invitation to a feeding frenzy.

*Boom!*

A deafening blast shattered the bulletproof glass of the French windows. A heatwave carrying shards of glass rushed into the living room.

It was the smell of C4.

The estate's wrought-iron gates were blown open, and ear-piercing alarms cut through the long night.

I sprang from the chair, grabbed the gun off the table, and rushed to the surveillance room.

On the screen, a dozen black SUVs stormed into the estate like greedy hyenas. The doors flew open, revealing masked hitmen armed with submachine guns.

On their chests, they wore red scorpion badges—the symbol of the Moretti family, the Corleones' sworn enemy for a century.

"Signora! They've breached the perimeter!" Old Rossi, the butler, stumbled in, clutching an old hunting rifle. "We don't have enough men. We can't hold them back!"

Bullets rained down on the outer walls of the main building.

Gritting my teeth, I dialed the only number I could.

It was Lorenzo's private satellite phone, my only lifeline.

The phone rang for a long time before it picked up.

What came from the other end wasn't a hail of gunfire, but the sound of the Sicilian sea breeze and the crisp clink of wine glasses.

"Elena?" Lorenzo's voice sounded weary. In the background, I could hear Sophia's soft, flirtatious laughter. "I just landed in Sicily. If you're calling to argue about what happened earlier, I don't have the energy..."

"Lorenzo! The Morettis are attacking!"

I screamed into the phone, ducking to avoid stray bullets flying through the window.

"The perimeter is breached! They have heavy weapons! I have no men here. You need to order the nearest branch to send backup immediately!"

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

Then came Sophia's terrified, tearful voice.

"Lorenzo... is Elena trying to trick you into coming back again?"

"The Morettis haven't clashed with us in ages... Is she trying to lure us back to New York?"

"After all, she won't accept our baby..."

Such a clumsy lie, yet Lorenzo actually believed it.

His breathing instantly grew heavier.

"Elena, that's enough."

His voice was as cold as the Sicilian sea in winter, filled with deep disappointment and disgust.

"You'd make up a lie like this just to get me back? You'd joke about the family's safety?"

"I've suppressed the Morettis so hard they don't dare show their faces. How could they possibly attack the estate now?"

A bullet struck the doorframe of the surveillance room, sending splinters flying into my face.

I gripped the phone in disbelief, my knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"Listen to the gunfire! Lorenzo! I am your wife! Would I lie to you about this?"

I held the phone toward the window; the rapid gunfire was clearly audible.

But from the other end came Sophia's scream: "Ah! My stomach... it hurts... Lorenzo, is the baby okay..."

"Sophia! Doctor! Get a doctor, now!"

Lorenzo's voice turned frantic instantly, all his attention stolen by that woman once again.

When he returned to the phone, his tone held zero patience, only unquestionable rage.

"Elena, I forbid you from playing these games! Sophia nearly miscarried just now because of your threats!"

"The estate has plenty of defenses. Even if there is an attack, you can handle it!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're playing the victim to force me to give up Sophia and the child. Let me tell you, it's not happening."

"Don't call me again until you learn to be as magnanimous as a proper Mama should be."

*Click—beep—beep—*

The line went dead.

The dial tone in the receiver interlaced with the approaching sounds of slaughter outside. It was incredibly ironic.

I slowly lowered the phone.

In that moment, I heard my own heart break. It was louder than the explosions outside.

He believed her.

Even when I was cornered, even when a gun was pointed at my head, he still thought I was just being a jealous woman.

In his heart, that "fragile" Sophia was ten thousand times more important than my life, than the Corleone ancestral home, than the glory of this place.

"Signora..." Old Rossi looked at me, his cloudy eyes full of despair. "Is the Don not sending anyone?"

The gunfire downstairs was closing in on the stairwell.

I took a deep breath and wiped away the single tear that hadn't yet fallen.

When I opened my eyes again, I might not have been Lorenzo's wife anymore, but I was still the daughter of the old Godfather.

"Uncle Rossi, open Sector B of the underground armory."

I ripped off the cumbersome hem of my gown and drew the Beretta that had been with me for years from the holster on my thigh.

"Since the Don has abandoned this place, I will defend it."

I turned to look at the few trembling servants who hadn't fled and the loyal old bodyguards behind me.

"Tell everyone not to wait for backup."

"We've been discarded."

"But this is the root of the Corleone family. This is the empire my father built."

I racked the slide. The sound of the bullet chambering was exceptionally crisp in the smoke-filled room.

"Even if I bleed my last drop, I will never hand this place over."

I took one last look at the photo of Lorenzo and me on the table.

In the picture, he was on one knee, swearing to protect me with his life.

I raised my hand and shot the frame.

Glass shards flew everywhere, just like our past that could never be restored.

"Goodbye, Lorenzo."

"I will protect my family myself."

I kicked the door open, faced the hitmen rushing up the hallway, and pulled the trigger.