Chapter 5 - The Siege of River North
The red emergency lights strobed against the concrete and glass of the penthouse, casting long, frantic shadows across the luxury furniture.
“How did they bypass the biometric locks?” Vincenzo demanded, slamming the ledger shut and locking it inside a hidden wall safe behind the mahogany desk.
“Inside job,” Marco spat, pulling a submachine gun from a concealed wall panel and checking the magazine. “Someone on the inner council gave Marcone the override codes. They’re coming straight for the top floor.”
I backed away toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, my heart hammering against my ribs. Albany Park felt a million miles away. My brother, Mateo, safe in his hospital room, was the only thought anchoring my panic.
“Lucia,” Vincenzo’s voice cut through the blaring alarm. He grabbed my arm, pulling me toward a narrow, heavy steel door hidden behind a bookshelf that I had never noticed before. “Get inside the panic room. Lock the deadbolt from the inside and do not open it for anyone except me.”
“What about you?” I cried, clutching his sleeve. “There’s a dozen of them and only two of you!”
“I built this empire from blood and ash, Lucia,” Vincenzo said, his dark eyes burning with fierce intensity. “I am not about to lose it tonight.”
He pushed me inside the reinforced steel vault, slamming the heavy door shut before I could say another word. The heavy thud of the locking mechanism echoed in the darkness, leaving me alone in a room illuminated only by a small security monitor showing the live feed of the penthouse main office.
On the screen, I watched in absolute horror as the double doors were blown off their hinges.
Three masked men in tactical gear poured into the room, automatic weapons raised. Marco fired from behind an overturned mahogany desk, dropping one assailant instantly, but taking a grazing round to his shoulder.
Then stepped in Salvatore Marcone himself, his silver hair catching the red strobe light, a cynical grin plastered across his bloated face.
“Russo!” Marcone shouted over the blaring alarm. “Game’s over! Open the wall safe and hand over the ledger, or I execute your dog right here!”
Vincenzo stood calmly beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets, completely unarmed.
“You always were a loud bastard, Salvatore,” Vincenzo replied, his voice echoing clearly through the panic room’s audio feed. “You think a few mercenaries from the South Side can erase what your family stole?”
“I don’t need to erase it if you’re dead!” Marcone snarled, leveling his pistol directly at Vincenzo’s chest.
My fingers clawed frantically at the steel door of the panic room. I couldn’t just stand there and watch him die. I had to do something.
On the security monitor, I noticed something Marcone’s men had missed: the heavy crystal chandelier hanging directly above the center of the room was wired to an emergency override switch right beside the bookshelf.
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With shaking hands, I searched the panic room wall until my fingers brushed against a small, toggle switch labeled Manual Drop.
I didn't hesitate. I pulled it down.
