Chapter 2: Two Kings
479 Words
The first gunshot shattered the studio's front window.
Glass rained across the wooden floor.
Sofia instinctively dropped behind the restoration table, her pulse roaring in her ears.
"What is happening?" she cried.
The stranger in the charcoal suit grabbed her wrist.
"If you want to live, don't ask questions."
Another burst of gunfire echoed through the building.
Heavy footsteps thundered toward them.
"She's in here!" someone shouted.
The stranger cursed under his breath.
"They're faster than I thought."
He pushed Sofia toward a narrow service door hidden behind shelves of antique frames.
"Go."
"I'm not leaving with you!"
"You don't have a choice."
The door burst open before either of them could move.
Six armed men stormed inside.
Their black suits were immaculate despite the chaos, and every weapon in the room was aimed at Sofia.
The man standing in front smiled.
"Miss Moretti."
His voice was calm.
"Please come with us."
Sofia shook her head.
"I don't even know who you are."
"No," he replied. "But my boss knows exactly who you are."
"And who's your boss?"
The man answered with quiet pride.
"Mr. Dante Romano."
The name meant nothing to Sofia.
It meant everything to the stranger beside her.
His expression hardened.
"So Romano found her first."
A deafening explosion shook the building.
The lights flickered.
Another convoy had arrived.
This time, the men outside weren't dressed in black.
They wore tailored charcoal suits, each with a silver crest pinned to the lapel.
Without warning, gunfire erupted again.
The two groups exchanged bullets across the gallery.
Sofia screamed and dropped to the floor.
The stranger pulled her behind a marble pillar.
"They're here."
"Who?"
He looked toward the shattered entrance.
"The only man dangerous enough to start a war in the middle of Florence."
Silence swept through the room.
Even the gunfire outside slowed.
Someone was walking in.
Slow.
Steady.
Unhurried.
Polished black shoes crunched over broken glass.
Every armed man instinctively lowered his weapon.
A tall man dressed entirely in black stepped into the gallery.
His dark eyes swept across the room before stopping on Sofia.
Cold.
Unreadable.
Power radiated from him without a single word.
One of Dante's men swallowed hard.
"...Luca De Santis."
Luca never looked away from Sofia.
Then, for the first time, he spoke.
"She's coming with me."
Before anyone could react, another voice echoed from the doorway.
"I don't think so."
A second man appeared, wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit and an infuriatingly confident smile.
Unlike Luca, he looked amused.
His eyes settled on Sofia.
"After all..."
He smiled.
"I found her first."
Sofia stared between the two men.
She had never met either of them.
Yet both looked at her as if they were prepared to start a war over a woman they had never spoken to.
And outside...
The city of Florence was about to become a battlefield.
- Writer
