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We reach the heavy door to the treasure room, and I clutch Fiero’s arm, my heart pounding in time with the steady tick of the antique grandfather clock in the corner. “Then consider this your training day without the safety net.”
We look down, and to our surprise, the key is in the doorlock.
“Franco must still be inside,” I gasp, staring at Fiero.
“He probably decided to hide in here once the fighting started outside.”
“Coward,” I hiss through gritted teeth.
"Ready?" Fiero whispers, his light green eyes filled with determination as he pulls out his gun and loads it again. I nod, biting my lip as he silently pushes the door open, and together, we step inside.
The room is bright, even brighter from the two diamonds that wait for us just at the center. Rafaele’s half and Fiero’s half.
Together, they look stunning, but as I keep my eyes on them, I notice one is slightly lighter. It's the counterfeit! Franco didn’t figure it out.
“What the hell?” we hear a voice from the corner at the right end. Franco jumps at his feet, draws his gun out and points it at us.
The next instant, I hear a gunshot. I close my eyes and scream, cowering to the ground. I open them and look around frantically to see if Fiero’s hurt.
But, to my surprise, I see his feet. He’s standing tall. He gives me his hand, and I rise.
Franco, however, looks petrified. I put two and two together. Fiero aimed near him, the gunshot activated the laser beams, and in panic, Franco dropped his gun right in the path of the lasers.
“If you move one inch,” Fiero grins. “You’d be burnt alive now, won’t you?”
"Wh-what do you want?" Franco stammers, his eyes darting between us in panic. "Please don’t kill me."
"Shut up and tell me how to dismantle the lasers," Fiero growls, keeping his weapon trained on Franco's forehead from across the room. "Do as we say, and you might just make it out of here alive."
"Please," I interject, my voice soft but firm. "We don't want to hurt you. We just need the diamond."
Franco hesitates for a moment, his gaze flickering between the gemstone and the barrel of Fiero's gun. Finally, he nods to the wall on my right, raising his hands in surrender.
"Good choice," Fiero says, a grim smile playing on his lips. He motions at me to walk to the wall, and I see one red button and a nine-digit numeric pad.
“Put in the code,” Franco says. “874593.”
I do as he says, and the laser beams disappear. Franco takes this moment to reach for his gun, but Fiero roars at him: “Step back!”
Fiero rushes over and grabs the gun off the floor. He aims his own weapon at Franco.
Without looking at me, he says, "Romola. Let's get what we came for and get out of here."
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. As Fiero keeps Franco at bay, I run to the glass, using Rafaele’s key to unlock it and grab both the diamonds from their perch.
“Romola wait,” Fiero says with a sly smile, which I’m beginning to learn means that he’s thinking deeply. “Leave Rafaele a gift, will you?”
I know just what he means. I let the lighter-colored stone remain and pick Rafaele’s half of the Heart of Italy. I put it in my coat pocket.
Fiero walks backward towards me, his gun still pointed at Franco. At the door, we turn and exit. Fiero locks him in, and we rush to make it outside.
We’re in the library when the piercing sound of an alarm bell shrills all around us. Franco must have triggered it somehow, alerting the compound to our presence.
"We need to hide, now!" Fiero urges, grabbing my hand and pulling me down behind the couch.
"Can we make it out of here?" he asks.
Fear constricts my chest as I think. “The only way out is the hallway. It might be swarming with guards!”
