Chapter 8 - The Ambush in Hyde Park
The following afternoon, Hyde Park was bathed in a pale, fragile autumn sunlight.
Giana walked along the gravel path near the Serpentine Lake, holding Leo’s hand as he tossed breadcrumbs to the swans. Julian walked ten paces behind them, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding trees and pathways.
"Mummy, can we get ice cream after this?" Leo asked, looking up with bright, hopeful eyes.
"Ice cream in November?" Giana laughed softly, adjusting his wool scarf. "Only if you promise to finish your soup at dinner."
"I promise!" Leo cheered.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
From the wooded area near the bridge, four heavy black SUVs pulled up onto the pedestrian walkway, blocking both ends of the path. Doors slammed open, and eight men in tactical gear stepped out, weapons drawn.
Julian instantly pulled his firearm, stepping in front of Giana and Leo. "Giana! Get behind the fountain! Now!"
Giana grabbed Leo, pulling him into her arms and sprinting behind the thick stone base of the central fountain just as the first gunshots echoed across the park.
Pigeons scattered into the air in a panic. Screams erupted from distant pedestrians as people scattered.
"Julian!" Giana cried out, shielding Leo's head with her body as stone dust sprayed over them from stray bullets striking the fountain.
Through the gaps in the stone, Giana saw that these men weren't Luca's guards. They were mercenaries wearing unmarked black uniforms—the personal security detail of the Bellini family's Canadian syndicate, controlled directly by Vanessa's family.
Vanessa had realized that if Luca surrendered the empire, her family would be wiped out financially. She had sent a hit squad to eliminate the threat at its source: Giana and Leo.
"Target the boy!" a man shouted in a thick Eastern European accent. "Vanessa wants the bloodline ended!"
Giana’s heart stopped. Vanessa.
A mercenary rounded the side of the fountain, his automatic rifle pointed directly at Giana and the crying boy in her arms. "End of the line, lady."
Giana braced herself, leaning over Leo, preparing to absorb the bullets with her own body.
BANG! BANG!
Two sharp gunshots rang out.
The mercenary’s eyes went wide in surprise as he collapsed forward onto the gravel, revealing Luca standing thirty feet away, holding a smoking pistol, his face pale and wild with desperation.
"Giana! Cover!" Luca screamed, sprinting directly into the line of fire.
He fired rapidly, dropping two more mercenaries who were advancing on the fountain. Bullets zipped through the air, tearing through his dark wool coat. A round grazed his shoulder, spraying blood onto the white gravel, but Luca didn't even slow down.
He threw himself over the low wall of the fountain, crashing down beside Giana and Leo, his body completely covering them both like a human shield.
"Luca!" Giana gasped, seeing the blood soaking his sleeve.
"I've got you," Luca panted heavily, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he held them tight against his chest. "I've got you both... I won't leave you again... I promise..."
He looked down at the terrified boy tucked beneath Giana's arms. For the first time in five years, Luca was holding his son. Tears spilled from his dark eyes, mixing with the dirt on his cheeks.
"Hey there, little man," Luca whispered softly through the pain, his hand reaching out to touch Leo's dark hair with extreme gentleness. "Don't be afraid. Daddy's here."
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Leo looked up at the bloodied man holding them, sensing no malice in him—only a overwhelming, protective love that felt strangely familiar.
Outside the fountain, Julian and Luca’s remaining bodyguards converged on the scene, engaging the remaining mercenaries in a brief, brutal firefight until the park fell into a heavy, ringing silence.
