Chapter 6 - The Shattered Glass
With a deafening crash, the massive crystal chandelier broke free from its moorings in the ceiling, plummeting directly onto the group of mercenaries standing near Marcone.
Two of the armed men collapsed beneath the avalanche of glass and heavy metal, screaming in agony. Marcone stumbled backward, his gun flying from his hand as he hit the mahogany desk.
Vincenzo didn't waste a second. Moving with terrifying speed, he closed the distance between them, grabbing Marcone by the lapels of his expensive suit and slamming him against the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking downtown Chicago.
The reinforced glass cracked beneath Marcone’s weight, spider-webbing out over the dizzying 47-story drop.
“You’re finished, Salvatore,” Vincenzo whispered, his face inches from the terrified South Side boss. “The ledger is secure. My family’s honor is restored. And your empire is dust.”
“You... you think you won?” Marcone gasped, coughing up blood, a twisted smile forming on his lips. “Check your phone, Russo. Check the hospital.”
Vincenzo froze. His black eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What did you do?”
“We didn't just come for the ledger tonight,” Marcone wheezed, laughing weakly. “While you were playing bodyguard to a cleaning girl, my men paid a very special visit to Northwestern Hospital. Your precious Mateo’s oxygen supply has just been... redirected.”
The blood drained entirely from Vincenzo’s face.
Inside the panic room, I screamed, pounding my fists against the steel door until my knuckles bled. I had heard every word through the audio feed. Mateo. My little brother.
Vincenzo released Marcone, letting the bloated boss slump to the floor, and spun around toward the panic room wall.
The heavy steel door clicked and swung open.
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Vincenzo stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with an incandescent rage I had never seen before. He looked at me, not as a maid, not as a weapon, but as a partner in a nightmare we both had to survive.
“Get your coat,” Vincenzo said, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “We’re going to the hospital.”
