CHAPTER 72: INTERRUPTED VOWS

The applause still echoed through the chapel when everything went wrong. The last note of the organ had barely faded when the sound of shattering glass ripped through the air. Aria froze mid-step, her fingers entwined with Luca’s as petals fluttered around them like falling ashes. For a brief, disorienting second, no one understood what was happening. Then the first scream pierced the silence.

"Get down!" one of the guards shouted.

The world erupted.

Bullets tore through the ornate stained glass windows, showering the marble floor in shards of color. Guests dove for cover behind pews and pillars as security rushed to form a shield around the bride and groom. Luca reacted instantly, pulling Aria against him and dragging her down behind the altar. The scent of gunpowder filled the air.

"Stay low," he ordered, voice low and sharp.

Aria’s heart pounded so violently she could feel it in her throat. The veil tangled in her hair as she tried to steady her breathing. She caught a glimpse of chaos, the flickering candles snuffed out by the blasts, the flowers crushed beneath hurried feet, and terrified faces of guests scrambling for safety.

"Who the hell is attacking us?" she whispered.

Luca’s eyes were burning embers. "Not Matteo this time," he muttered. "Someone else."

Before he could elaborate, a grenade rolled through the chapel doors, clinking across the stone floor. Gas hissed from it, flooding the room with thick white smoke. Panic surged again as people coughed and choked.

"Move!" Luca barked, grabbing Aria’s hand. "Through the side corridor!"

They bolted behind the altar, ducking under the smoke. Aria’s heels clattered against the floor as Luca led her down the narrow passage toward the adjoining garden. Her wedding gown snagged on a splintered pew, tearing slightly, but she didn’t stop. She could barely see through the haze, her lungs burning.

As they stumbled into the courtyard, sunlight pierced through the smoke like a blade. Aria gasped for air, clutching her chest. Luca pressed her against the wall, scanning the perimeter with his gun drawn.

Guards were already returning fire at masked assailants who had stormed the estate grounds. The attackers were precise, trained, organized. Whoever orchestrated this wasn’t trying to scare them. They were trying to send a message.

"Luca!" Marco, one of his lieutenants, sprinted toward them. "It’s the Romanos syndicate! They breached the main gate!"

"The Romanos?" Luca snarled. "Those bastards swore neutrality after Palermo."

"They lied," Marco spat. "And they brought reinforcements. Half the chapel’s under siege."

Luca cursed under his breath, turning back to Aria. "You stay here. Don’t move until I clear the east side."

"Like hell I will," she snapped. Her voice trembled, but her eyes burned with defiance. "You’re not leaving me again."

He stared at her, jaw tightening. The lace on her gown was streaked with soot, her hair wild, but she looked fierce, more queen than bride. "You’ll do what I say if you want to live," he growled.

"Then we’ll live together," she fired back. "I’m done being protected like a glass doll."

For a split second, something softened in his gaze, admiration, maybe. Then another explosion rocked the ground, cutting off their argument. Luca grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the arched walkway leading to the east wing.

As they ran, bullets whistled past. Aria ducked instinctively, clutching her bouquet so tightly her knuckles turned white. It was absurd that she still held it, a blood-splattered symbol of what this day was supposed to be.

They reached a stone corridor that overlooked the courtyard below. Smoke rose in twisting columns. The once-beautiful wedding scene was now a battlefield, flowers crushed, pews overturned, guests screaming. The Romanos had timed this perfectly, striking at their most vulnerable moment.

Luca’s men fought back fiercely, outnumbered but unyielding. Aria spotted Sofia crouched behind a fallen column, shooting with terrifying precision. The priest, dazed but alive, crawled toward safety.

"Keep your head down," Luca muttered, firing at a shadow moving near the fountain. The shot landed clean.

Aria flinched but didn’t look away. She couldn’t. She needed to see what her world had become.

Then she heard it, a voice cutting through the chaos, amplified by a speaker somewhere outside. Cold. Familiar.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Deluca," the voice drawled. "I hope you don’t mind the interruption."

Aria’s blood turned to ice.

Luca’s eyes narrowed. "Antonio Romanos," he hissed.

The heir of the Romano syndicate, Matteo’s new partner and one of Luca’s oldest enemies. Arrogant, ruthless, and obsessed with power. His presence meant this wasn’t just revenge, it was an open declaration of war.

"Such a beautiful ceremony," Antonio continued, his tone mocking. "But did you really think you could unite two bloodlines and erase centuries of rivalry with a kiss?"

Luca shouted something in Italian to his men, his tone fierce. "Lock down the east gate! No one gets in or out!"

Aria pressed closer to him, her fingers trembling. "He’s doing this for Matteo, isn’t he?"

"Matteo’s using him," Luca said bitterly. "And he’s too stupid to see it."

Gunfire erupted again, closer this time. They ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the stone above their heads. Luca pushed her behind a pillar and stepped into the open, returning fire with deadly precision.

Aria’s heart twisted watching him, her husband, still in his wedding suit, fighting for their lives moments after saying "I do." It was madness, but it was their reality.

Then the speaker crackled again, Antonio’s voice laced with venom. "You can’t protect her forever, Luca. She’s worth more dead than alive to the right people."

Luca froze, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

Aria felt the air leave her lungs. "What does he mean?" she whispered.

Luca didn’t answer immediately. When he finally turned to her, his expression was grim. "He knows about your bloodline," he said quietly. "They all do now."

The truth hit her like a punch. Her mother’s heritage, her claim to an empire greater than Luca’s was no longer a secret. The Romanos wanted to eliminate her before she could consolidate that power.

"Then we end this now," she said through gritted teeth.

Luca’s eyes flicked to her, startled by her resolve. "Aria..."

Before he could stop her, she stepped into the open courtyard. The smoke had thinned just enough for her to see the Romanos soldiers regrouping near the gate. Her wedding dress dragged across broken stone, the torn veil fluttering like a ghost behind her.

"Aria!" Luca shouted, but she raised her voice, cutting through the chaos.

"You want me?" she shouted, her tone sharp, commanding. "Then look at me!"

Every gun turned in her direction. Even Antonio paused, surprised. Aria’s heart hammered so loud she could hear it, but she didn’t falter.

"I’m not a pawn," she continued. "I’m the rightful heir of the Conti empire and if you want to challenge me, then come and face me like men, not cowards hiding behind smoke and guns."

For a moment, silence. Even the fighting paused as both sides processed the sheer audacity of her words.

Then Luca stepped beside her, gun raised, eyes burning. "You heard her," he growled. "This is your only warning."

Antonio’s laugh echoed through the courtyard. "Oh, how poetic," he said. "The king and queen of chaos, standing side by side. Let’s see how long that lasts."

He gave the signal.

Shots exploded from every direction. Luca pulled Aria back just in time as bullets shattered the stone steps where she had stood. The guards returned fire with brutal efficiency, but the Romanos were retreating, leaving smoke, blood, and a warning behind.

When the last gunshot faded, the courtyard was unrecognizable. Bodies lay scattered among crushed roses. The air smelled of metal and burnt powder.

Aria stood in stunned silence, her gown ruined, her bouquet gone. The chapel that once symbolized union now looked like a graveyard.

Luca holstered his weapon and turned to her, his face etched with both fury and worry. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head slowly. "No. Just finished pretending we can have peace."

He exhaled, brushing soot from her cheek with a thumb. "Then we stop pretending," he said softly. "We fight back."

Her gaze locked with his. The fear was still there but so was something stronger. Resolve.

As the sirens wailed in the distance and the sun bled into the horizon, Aria realized that their vows hadn’t been interrupted after all. They’d just been rewritten.

Not "till death do us part."

But until the war ends.

The aftermath was grim. Aria and Luca moved swiftly through the estate, rallying the remaining guards to secure the perimeter. The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke and the metallic tang of blood. Servants scurried to aid the wounded, their faces pale with shock. Aria’s torn gown clung to her skin, heavy with dust, but she refused to change. There was no time for fragility.

Marco approached, his face streaked with grime. "We lost six men," he reported. "The Romanos hit us hard, but they’re gone for now. We found their vehicles abandoned a mile out."

"Cowards," Luca spat, his voice low. "They wanted chaos, not a fight."

Aria’s mind raced. Antonio’s words echoed in her head, his taunt about her bloodline. She had always known her mother’s lineage carried weight, but its full extent had been hidden from her until recently. The Conti empire spanned continents, a network of influence that dwarfed even Luca’s operations. Now, it was a target painted on her back.

"We need to move," she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "They’ll come for us again."

Luca nodded, his expression unreadable. "We head to the safehouse in Verona. Tonight."

As they prepared to leave, Aria caught sight of Sofia, her best friend and Luca’s sharpshooter, bandaging a wound on her arm. Sofia met her gaze, offering a grim nod. "We’ll get them," she said simply.

Aria managed a faint smile. "I know."

The convoy was ready by dusk, armored vehicles lined up under the fading light. Aria and Luca climbed into the lead car, the weight of the day settling between them. As the engine roared to life, she reached for his hand, finding it steady and warm.

"We’ll rewrite this story," she whispered.

He squeezed her hand, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Together."