Head into the next chapter to uncover what happens next.

The muzzle of the operative’s carbine flashed in the gloom, but Alessandro had already dropped into a low combat slide the moment the man began to turn. A suppressed round hissed through the damp air, embedding itself deep into the limestone wall with a sharp crack and showering stone chips across Alessandro’s shoulders.

Before the guard could re-acquire his target, Alessandro swept his right leg outward in a vicious, sweeping kick, catching the operative behind the knee and sending him crashing hard onto the wet concrete. The man’s weapon flew from his grasp, clattering away into the darkness down the corridor.

Alessandro was on top of him in a heartbeat, pinning the operative's chest with his knee and pressing the muzzle of his Beretta firmly against the side of the man’s tactical helmet.

"Don't move," Alessandro growled, his voice vibrating with lethal intensity. "One twitch and your brain is spread across this floor."

The guard froze, his chest heaving beneath his heavy plate carrier. Through the night-vision goggles pushed up onto his forehead, his eyes widened with recognition and terror. "Boss... Mr. Moretti... I was just following orders—"

"Whose orders?" Alessandro pressed the barrel harder against his helmet. "Victor? Or did the board buy you out?"

"Victor!" the guard stammered frantically. "He said you had a medical emergency... that you were incapacitated and he was taking over temporary control of the estate assets. We didn't know about... about the hit, sir! I swear on my life!"

Alessandro didn't believe a word of it, but he didn't need confessions right now; he needed information. "Where is the master keycard for the perimeter gate override?"

"In... in my tactical pouch," the guard gasped, pointing a shaking gloved finger toward his chest rig. "Right breast pocket. Take it! Just don't shoot!"

Alessandro reached down, yanked the plastic access card from the pouch, and jammed it into his own jacket pocket. Then, without warning, he struck the guard sharply across the temple with the heavy polymer grip of his pistol. The man slumped sideways, instantly unconscious.

"Elena! Sophia! Come out," Alessandro called softly into the dark alcove.

Elena emerged a second later, clutching Sophia tightly. The little girl’s face was pale, but she didn't make a sound.

"Is he... is he dead?" Elena whispered, staring at the unconscious guard sprawled across the wet floor.

"Just sleeping," Alessandro said, grabbing the guard’s dropped tactical flashlight and handing it to Elena. "Take this. We need to move. The comms on his shoulder rig are active; Victor will know he's down within sixty seconds when he doesn't check in."

They broke into a brisk jog, turning away from the boiler room junction and heading down the narrow, descending service tunnel that led directly to the old boathouse on the lake. The air grew noticeably colder and damper as they advanced, carrying the distinct, metallic tang of fresh water mixed with rotting reeds.

After another three minutes of hard running, a faint square of gray light appeared at the end of the tunnel—the exit hatch leading out beneath the wooden decking of the Moretti boathouse.

Alessandro reached the heavy iron ladder leading up to the hatch first. He pushed against the latch, testing its resistance. It clicked open easily.

"We’re almost out," Alessandro turned back to encourage Elena. "Once we reach the boathouse, I can—"

Suddenly, the harsh beam of a high-intensity halogen spotlight cut through the darkness from the lake outside, flooding the boathouse interior and blinding them completely.