Chapter 5 Fire in the ballroom

The violin screeched-one wrong note, sharp and jarring. It wasn't the musician's fault. The sound came when the doors at the far end of the hall burst open.

Sophia flinched, her champagne glass slipping from her fingers and shattering on the marble floor.

At first, she thought she imagined it. But then came the shouting-men's voices, harsh and commanding. A ripple of panic swept through the glittering crowd as black-clad intruders stormed into the ballroom, guns glinting under the chandelier light.

For one suspended second, the scene felt unreal. Crystal gowns, golden chandeliers, music strangling into silence-and then the first shot rang out.

Chaos exploded.

Women screamed, clutching pearls that moments ago had been trophies of wealth. Men shoved and ducked, toppling chairs in their rush for cover. The quartet abandoned their instruments, bowstrings snapping as they scrambled off stage.

Sophia's heart thundered in her ears. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move.

Then a hand seized her wrist.

Maria. "Run!"

Sophia stumbled after her friend, but her heels skidded on the marble. The crowd surged like a panicked wave, dragging them apart.

"Maria!" Sophia screamed, but her friend was gone, swallowed by bodies and smoke.

A gunshot cracked too close. Sophia dropped instinctively, covering her head as shards of glass rained from a shattered chandelier ornament.

Her chest heaved. She couldn't die here. Not like this.

Move. Move.

She crawled toward the edge of the room, heart pounding so violently she thought it might burst. The air was thick with perfume, smoke, and the acrid bite of gunpowder.

And then she saw him.

Adrian Romano.

Adrian

The moment the doors burst open, Adrian knew who had sent them.

Moreno's men.

He rose from his seat at the table with calm that contrasted the chaos erupting around him. His scotch glass was still half full when he set it down, unhurried.

The first intruder barely had time to lift his weapon before Adrian drew his own, a black pistol sleek and deadly. One shot-clean, precise-split the man's skull. He crumpled, blood smearing the marble like spilled wine.

Adrian didn't flinch.

Screams rose around him, but he tuned them out. His world narrowed to the rhythm of violence, his movements sharp and lethal. Another man rushed forward-Adrian pivoted smoothly, firing once into his chest, again into his throat. The body collapsed, twitching.

Chaos was noise. Adrian was order. Ruthless, cold order.

And yet, even as he killed, his gaze cut instinctively across the ballroom-searching.

Sophia.

He spotted her near the floor, crawling desperately toward cover, her emerald dress bright against the chaos. Terror etched every line of her face, yet she fought to move, to survive.

Something twisted in his chest, sharp and unfamiliar.

No one touches her.

Sophia

She pressed herself against a column, gasping for breath. Her hands trembled, her knees raw from marble scraping through the thin fabric of her dress. She wanted to close her eyes, to disappear.

But movement caught her attention.

Adrian.

He moved like death itself-calm, assured, merciless. His gun was an extension of his hand, every shot deliberate. Men fell before him with terrifying precision.

Sophia's blood ran cold. She should look away. She should hide her eyes from the monster in the suit. But she couldn't.

She couldn't stop watching him.

Their gazes met across the chaos. For one heartbeat, the world narrowed to just the two of them.

And then another intruder broke that moment, lunging toward her with a snarl.

Sophia froze. Too close. Too fast.

The man's arm lifted-

A gunshot cracked.

The intruder collapsed at her feet, blood pooling across marble.

Sophia gasped, stumbling back-only to see Adrian lowering his pistol, his gaze locked firmly on her.

"Stay down," his voice cut through the mayhem, low and commanding.

For the first time, she obeyed.