Isabella POV
The fluorescent lights of the JFK Customs Hall buzzed like a swarm of angry wasps.
"System's down, ma'am. You'll have to wait," the uniformed customs officer drawled, not quite meeting my eyes.
My stomach plummeted. I recognized the dead, detached look of an Associate following orders. This wasn't a glitch. It was a Don's Command. Damien's men had found us, and they were stalling until the Soldiers arrived to drag me back into the dark.
I tightened my grip on five-year-old Chiara's hand, my mind racing for an exit. Beside me, five-year-old Alessandro stood with eerie stillness. He pushed his glasses up his nose and casually raised his wrist, staring at the bulky, makeshift digital watch he had built from scavenged parts.
"Alex, don't-" I started to whisper.
It was too late. The terminal's fire alarms suddenly shrieked, a deafening, rhythmic wail that sent a shockwave of panic through the hall. Behind the glass counter, the officer's monitor flickered violently. The blue screen was instantly swallowed by a glowing green Moretti family crest, followed by bold, flashing text: ACCESS GRANTED. Every other function on his terminal locked down.
The Associate stared at the screen, terrified of the sudden chaos and the digital ghost of his boss's crest. Instinct took over. He slammed his stamp onto our passports and shoved them back.
I grabbed the documents, pulling the kids through the gates as travelers began to scatter. I leaned down, my lips brushing Alex's ear. "No more, Alex. Not unless we have to."
He just gave a curt nod, his dark eyes calculating.
We spilled into the Arrivals Hall, a chaotic ocean of exhausted travelers and waiting families. "Keep your heads down," I ordered, scanning the exits.
But the blood running through my children's veins was ancient, violent, and impossible to tame.
Chiara suddenly dug her heels in, tugging at my coat. "Mama," she murmured, her small nose wrinkling. "Bad smell. Hot."
Before I could process her warning, five-year-old Marco ripped his hand from mine. He didn't run away from the danger; he was drawn to it. He darted toward a metal trash can near a concrete pillar, his eyes wide with a predator's thrill.
"Fire!" Marco yelled.
A micro-incendiary device-likely a discarded burner phone battery-popped inside the bin. Thick, acrid smoke and a burst of orange sparks shot into the air. The crowd erupted into screams, surging away from the pillar.
I lunged forward, snatching Marco by the collar of his jacket and dragging him back against my side. "We are mice!" I hissed, my heart hammering against my ribs as I shook him slightly. "Do you understand? We are quiet, and we are invisible."
Marco jutted his chin out, his jaw set in a stubborn, sharp line that mirrored the man I was running from. "I'm not a mouse, Mama. I'm a lion."
The smoke forced us to move, pushing us directly into the center of the hall, right into a blinding storm of camera flashes.
Gianna Santoro.
I recognized the socialite instantly. She was standing amidst a pile of designer luggage, performing a theatrical display of annoyance for the paparazzi she had undoubtedly hired herself.
In the jostling of the panicked crowd, Chiara stumbled. Her beloved, worn teddy bear slipped from her grasp, landing directly at the tip of Gianna's six-inch stiletto.
Gianna looked down, her perfectly contoured face twisting in disgust. She kicked the bear aside with a vicious flick of her ankle. "Watch where you're going, you little gutter rat," she snapped, reaching out with a manicured hand to shove my daughter out of her spotlight.
The world narrowed to a single, blood-red point.
I moved before conscious thought. My hand shot out, intercepting Gianna's wrist just inches from Chiara's shoulder. I twisted, locking her arm into a brutal, precise joint manipulation I had learned from the estate guards years ago.
Gianna shrieked, her knees buckling as the agonizing pressure hit her nerve.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Marco drop into a fighter's stance, his small fists clenched, ready to draw blood. Beside him, Alex calmly tapped his watch. A second later, the digital lenses of the nearest paparazzi cameras sparked and died, plunging our immediate circle into unrecorded shadow.
I leaned in, my face inches from Gianna's terrified, tear-filled eyes. My voice was a venomous, icy whisper that cut through the noise of the terminal.
"Don't. Touch. My. Daughter."
