Viviana Falcone's henchmen rounded on me, snarling that I should mind my own business. Nina was stunned into silence.

I strode forward, shielding her with my body.

Seeing that her skin was still unharmed, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I barked at her, "Go find my father! Tell him to bring backup. Now!"

Nina froze for a second, then scrambled to her feet and ran, trembling.

I gritted my teeth, preparing to face the Falcone thugs alone.

Seeing Nina escape, they were enraged. One of them raised his gun and fired.

The bullet tore through my calf, and the searing pain brought me to one knee.

Seeing me stumble, they just sneered.

"I've been waiting for a chance to get my hands on you," one of the women spat. "We were planning on paying you a visit after we were done with Nina. I guess you decided to save us the trip."

As soon as she finished speaking, another bullet slammed into my thigh. The sharp pain ripped through me, and my grip on my gun loosened.

Just then, Nina ran back in, holding a gun. But the barrel was aimed at my ankle. She pulled the trigger without warning.

I stared at her, bewildered, as the bullet struck home.

She stammered frantically, "I—I didn't mean to! I was so nervous, my hand slipped!"

The pain was excruciating. Even so, for Enzo's sake, I gritted my teeth and shielded her with my body.

I could never forget that she was the woman Enzo loved most. This time, I had to ensure her safety. Only then could he be spared the pain of losing her.

I didn't have time to wonder if Nina's hand had truly slipped. I turned, shielding her as we tried to fall back.

But my body convulsed from the immense pain. Suppressing a raw, furious cry, I gritted my teeth and returned fire at the Falcone thugs.

The moment they saw the murderous glint in my eyes, a flicker of fear crossed their faces, and they scrambled for cover behind the pillars.

Before I could catch my breath, a gunshot rang out from behind me. In a flash, my weapon was shot cleanly out of my hand.

I whipped around to see Enzo pointing his gun at me, his face a mask of fury. "Alessia! How could you point a gun at Nina? What did she ever do to you?"

I shook my head in anguish. "No, Enzo. It's not like that..."

But Nina had already thrown herself into his arms, sobbing. "Enzo, I'm so scared... Please, just get me out of here!"

Her cries seemed to tear at his heart.

A moment later, Enzo fired several warning shots at the ground by my feet. "The next time you dare to hurt Nina, I'll bury you with my own two hands!"