“Goodbye, Emerald. Don’t worry, I’m sending your Ace to you to heaven soon. You can live there together forever because, unfortunately, you won’t be able to do that in this world.”

“You bastard! I will kill you!” I thrashed in that man’s hold, and in return, he smacked me across my face, sending me to the ground.

A cry left my lips as the world spun around me, blood rushing to my head.

“Yes, boss,” he said, pressing the phone to his ear. Nodding, he glanced down at me with cold, merciless eyes. “Don’t worry, we won’t leave any evidence behind.”

With wide eyes, I stared at him in shock. Panic rattled inside me as he cut the phone call and got a gun out of his back pocket, holding it directly at me.

“No,” I whispered, backing away from the gun. My stomach churned as I glanced at the cold, deadly nozzle. My heart pounded in my chest.

“Goodbye, Ms. Hutton. See you in the hell.” He curled his finger around the trigger. A deafening sound boomed across the hallway.

Letting out a scream, I fell to the ground with my arms before my face.

A pain shot through my back, the spinning in my head only increased. But it wasn’t as severe as I thought a bullet’s hit would be.

I didn’t feel any piercing pain in any parts of my body.

A thump before me made me open my eyes.

The man with the scar was lying on his chest on the floor, right before my feet, in the pool of his own blood.

Before I could understand anything, gun fires started across the hallway. Chaos rose around as the other guards kept firing at the direction my back faced while trying to save themselves from the incoming bullets.

I screamed at the ear-piercing sounds, covering my ears with my hands. Tears rushed down my face, heart thumped in my chest. I shook as I curled into a ball on the floor, trying to stay away from the bullets.

The air filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder, making me cough.

The floor vibrated under me as body after body dropped. After some hisses and yells, cries of agony, the firing finally stopped.

Lifting my head, I surveyed the area. Three of the guards were dead. Red blood soaked the carpet, turning it into crimson.

I watched the sight before me in horror. I couldn’t move. For a moment, I couldn’t even hear anything. Though I could feel the fast racing of my heartbeat.

Then footsteps reached me. A pair of polished shoes came into my vision.

“Jesus, Emerald! Are you all right?” A familiar deep voice, laced with an Italian accent, made me look up.

Duncan De Sylvano.

His alert, icy blue eyes watched me in concern.