Chapter 40 Gunshots In The Park

I didn't wait for Matteo to return; instead, I walked slowly along the lake. This time, I chose to walk on the grass further away from the water's edge. It wasn't until I didn't look back that I realized how far I had gone—so far that I couldn't see Antonio anymore when I looked back. It was not a good sign, and I could almost imagine Antonio's angry face. I hurried back.

I think I had walked beyond the area Dante had rented because the grass here was not well-maintained, and the roadside was littered with clumps of dirt and stones. My pace quickened, the stones painfully jabbing at my feet. This experience was dreadful, and I berated myself more than once for getting carried away. Antonio would undoubtedly be furious, and I needed to safely return, or he might use this as an excuse to further restrict my movements or even cancel our plans, preventing me from attending Valentina's engagement party.

As I hastened back, a stranger stopped me. He had a rugged beard and naturally curly red hair that looked unkempt but clean. Dressed in a casual, comfortable black tracksuit with a white towel draped around his neck, he seemed like a local resident out for exercise, but he shouldn't have been in this private area reserved for today.

He glanced at my camera and spoke kindly, "You seem quite professional with that camera, miss."

"What do you want?" I asked, wary of his approach, my eyes on the strangely bulging pocket of his tracksuit. I didn't know what he had hidden there, but it felt like he had been waiting for me, which was frightening. I scanned my surroundings, not wanting any entanglement with him.

But his large frame blocked my view like a mountain in front of me. "I was hoping you could take a photo of me and my friends. It's a simple request, and a beautiful, kind person like you wouldn't refuse, right?"

"No!" I refused. "I don't have time. I need to find my friends. Please move aside."

"I can help you look for your friends." The man reached out to grab me, but I dodged and screamed for Antonio and the bodyguards, then ran away from him as fast as I could. My bare feet hurt running over the rocky, uneven grass, but I dared not stop, the wind and the man's angry curses filling my ears as he chased me. I didn't dare look back, clutching my camera as I ran, unsure if I was even running in the right direction.

Then I heard a gunshot behind me, sounding both far away and dangerously close. With my limited experience, I couldn't tell, and all I could do was scream loudly while running. Fear made my limbs weak, but I couldn't afford to stop. I feared the man behind me would shoot, so I ran up the hillside towards a small grove in the park, the sharp grass blades slicing through my tender skin. The pain was sharp, but I couldn't stop.

Gunshots continued as the peaceful park erupted into chaos with screams and cries for help everywhere. The crowd panicked, and my escape route became severely congested.

Suddenly, a large hand reached out and grabbed my arm! "Ah! Let me go, let go!" I screamed in terror, closing my eyes and striking the person holding me with my camera.

"Damn it!" I heard the man curse as he easily countered my attack, grabbing my shoulders tightly and shouting at me to calm down, "Calm down, Sienna, it's me, it's me!"

Frightened, I buried myself in his embrace and cried loudly, "I was so scared, Antonio."

As Antonio pulled me and roared, he drew his own gun and shot accurately at an enemy close to me. Was the man dead? "Who allowed you to leave the designated area? Do you realize how dangerous it was just now?"

Feeling wronged, I replied, "I didn't even know that man, I don't know why he wanted to grab me."

"Come with me!" Antonio pulled me, but I didn't want to go with him anymore; I was angry—it wasn't my fault.

"Don't be stubborn, Sienna, you have no idea what we're facing right now."

Dante also came over, firing several shots behind us while panting heavily, "Boss, you and Sienna get out of here, we'll handle this."

"No!" I couldn't bear the thought, they were outnumbered, and Dante was in danger!

But Antonio completely disregarded the safety of his subordinates, leading me to a nearby small building as frequent gunshots rang out outside. Antonio pressed me against a wall, holding his gun ready and watching the area closely. They were targeting him, and they wouldn't stop until they found him.

Antonio gestured for me to crouch and move through the passage ahead, staying close behind me,alert for any danger. "Sienna," Antonio's gun was pointed as I heard the bullet being fired, the fraction of a second it took for the bullet to fly left my mind blank. The searing bullet grazed my skin but did not hit me. I heard a heavy thud as I abruptly turned around to see a man shot in the head by Antonio, falling to the ground, his eyes wide open. He never got up again, blood starting to seep from the bullet hole. I covered my mouth forcefully, suppressing the scream that threatened to escape. But I could feel the tense vibration in the air, protected in Antonio's embrace as he pulled me along, we ran through the corridor and plunged back into the crowd.