The world slowed for her and she watched the scene playing before her in slow motion. Her dad collapsing, and the way the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath his coat darkened with blood in the twinkling of an eye.
The loud thud of his body hitting the ground coupled with the unmasked sorrow in her scream was enough to alert her brother and mother on what had happened.
"Papa..." she cried out one more time.
Sensing the raw pain in his sister's voice and knowing the cause of it was enough to render Vince weak for a moment. He blinked back tears that came out of nowhere before sparing his father's body a quick glance.
One just enough for him to see the man flash him one last proud but sad smile before another bullet went straight through his head, rendering him lifeless instantly.
Anger radiated from Vincent's body, his blue eyes darkening with blood lust as they found the one dark clothed man on the podium; the one who just killed his father.
"Lo vi ucciderò tutti!" he growled, his voice thick with wrath. His steps were slow but deliberate as he moved forward, eyes locked on his target. Without slowing down his shooting, he bent down and seized the gun lying beside his father's lifeless body, his grip tightening around the weapon as his rage burned hotter.
Vince pulled the trigger with his father's gun, and in an instant, the man dropped lifeless to the ground. Without hesitation, he shifted his focus to the others scrambling onto the podium, their hesitation betraying their fear. With both weapons now in his grasp, he made sure they wouldn't get the chance to climb any further.
Stella, on the other hand, felt all her strength leave her body. Her hold on Genevieve loosened, causing both the girl and Stella's gun to fall to her feet on the ground. She turned slowly, disbelief in her eyes as they locked onto her husband's lifeless body on the ground.
''Luca… no, you didn't just...," she murmured, her voice trembling with a mixture of shock and denial.
''Leave, Mum!'' Vince yelled from where he was currently standing behind a speaker. "I can't hold them back for much longer!"
Stella, who was still consumed with sorrow at the sight of her husband, didn't register any of the words her son was screaming at her. Neither did she notice that her daughter was now crawling towards her dead father.
However, a sharp, searing sting tearing through her arm was all it took to snap her out of her shock-induced trance. Her breath hitched as realization dawned; she had been shot!
The chaos around her came rushing back, and she finally heard her son's furious voice, rapid Italian curses spilling from his lips as he fired relentlessly, "Maledetti bastardi! Vi mando all'inferno, pezzi di merda! Avete ucciso mio padre, e ora vi farò a pezzi! Crepate, figli di puttana! Morite tutti, dannati traditori!"
All of a sudden, as if possessed, Stella snatched up her gun and joined her son in the fight, fury burning through her grief. Gritting her teeth in determination, she grabbed Genevieve by the collar despite the pain searing through her arm and pulled her up.
"To your room now, Eve. The maids are probably aware of what's happening here by now, and you'll definitely run into more guards on your way out. They will protect you…"
''But Papa…'' was all Genevieve could bring herself to say, unable to take her eyes off her father.
"Take your eyes off your father and listen to me!"
Like a programmed robot, Genevieve obeyed immediately and averted her gaze, lowering it to the ground. She couldn't look anywhere else as she wasn't sure her mind could take it. Her mother's tight grip on her collar was suffocating her, but the blood dripping from her arm onto the girl's neck was what bothered her the most. ''Mama, you are—''
''Genevieve Stellina Armani, shut up and get a grip on yourself. Immediately I give the order, you are to run towards the door!''
Genevieve flinched at that. As her mom rarely ever got angry with her, one of the ways to know when the older woman was highly displeased was when she addressed her with her full name.
''Mum…'' she whimpered.
With her focus entirely on the fight, Stella was unable to spare a glance at her daughter, but she could hear the fear in the girl's voice. It was inevitable. Even she, who had long expected something like this from the moment she married into the Armani family could feel the chill of terror creeping in.
How much worse would it be for Genevieve? A child who had been sheltered from birth and now forced to witness her father's brutal death right before her eyes?
However, even as Stella's heart screamed for her to pull Genevieve into a comforting embrace, she knew that wasn't an option. At least not now. There was no time for softness. What her daughter needed in this moment was cruelty.
And she did exactly that.
''Listen, Genevieve, do you want me and your brother to die protecting you just like your father just did?''
''What—I...''
''That's what I thought," Stella said emotionlessly. "Get up and do as I said. Activate the special lock for your closet and hide in there until I come get you myself.''
Genevieve scrambled to her feet, her steps quick and hurried to match the urgency with which her mother had given her instructions. While her mum walked backwards to cover for her, she gathered her dress and hurried to the door.
At the threshold, she hesitated, unable to resist the urge to look back. Her breath caught as she saw Vince dropping down on one knee, yelling out a curse.
Knowing she had to leave so as not to burden them more, she only waited long enough to see her mother take down the person who had shot Vince's leg before forcing her gaze away and entering the main building from the side door. Expecting to meet another round of chaos, Genevieve stopped dead in her tracks when she met the exact opposite.
The grand living room was eerily quiet.
(A/N: Lo vi ucciderò tutti — I will kill you all.
Maledetti bastardi! Vi mando all'inferno, pezzi di merda! Avete ucciso mio padre, e ora vi farò a pezzi! Crepate, figli di puttana! Morite tutti, dannati traditori! — Damn bastards! I'm sending you to hell, you pieces of shit! You killed my father, and now I will tear you to pieces! Die, you sons of bitches! Die all, damned traitors!)