Chapter 5 - The Final Debt
The panic room was no larger than a walk-in closet, cold, sterile, and heavily soundproofed, but I could still feel the deep, rhythmic vibrations of the brutal battle occurring above.
I sat on the cold steel floor in the pitch black, rocking Leo back and forth, humming a soft, continuous lullaby to drown out the muffled thuds and keep him from crying.
Minutes dragged on, feeling like agonizing hours. I prayed to any god that would listen to keep Lorenzo safe.
Suddenly, the heavy, electronic locking mechanism of the panic room door groaned loudly.
Someone was overriding the exterior keypad.
My blood ran instantly cold. Every hair on my arms stood up.
Lorenzo had explicitly told me he would knock three times before entering, to signal it was clear.
There was no knock.
The thick steel door swung open with a heavy mechanical whine, revealing the dimly lit, smoke-filled bunker outside.
Standing in the doorway, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound in his shoulder and holding a silver pistol, was Marcus.
He looked absolutely ragged, desperate, and completely unhinged. His eyes were wide and manic.
"Well, well, well," Marcus wheezed, stepping inside the small room and violently slamming the door shut behind him, locking us in. "Rossi is busy tearing my friends apart up there like a mad dog. But the arrogant bastard forgot to guard his basement."
I scrambled backward on my hands and knees, backing into the furthest corner of the room, shielding Leo completely with my body and the Kevlar vest.
"Marcus, please," I pleaded, my voice trembling violently. "Just leave. Let us go."
"Let you go?" He let out a wet, manic laugh that sent chills down my spine. "You owe me, Clara. Rossi put a two-million-dollar bounty on my head because of you! I haven't slept in two weeks!"
"You killed our daughter!" I screamed, the ocean of grief inside me finally erupting into pure, blinding rage. "You killed Lily!"
Marcus flinched for a fraction of a second, but his eyes quickly hardened into cruel slits.
"Collateral damage," he spat, waving the gun carelessly. "Now hand over the mafia brat. He's my only ticket out of this city alive. Rossi won't shoot me if I'm holding his heir."
He raised his gun, aiming it directly at my chest, and stepped closer.
I looked up at the man I had once loved. The man who had charmed me, broken me, and taken my child.
I wasn't the scared, pregnant, defenseless woman crying on the staircase anymore.
I was a mother protecting her child.
As Marcus stepped forward, reaching out his bloody hand to rip Leo from my arms, I noticed the heavy, red metal fire extinguisher mounted on the wall right beside my shoulder.
I didn't think. I let instinct take over completely.
With my left arm holding Leo incredibly tight to my chest, my right hand shot up, grabbed the heavy metal cylinder off its bracket, and swung it forward with every single ounce of adrenaline and strength I possessed.
The heavy bottom of the extinguisher smashed directly into Marcus's face with a sickening, wet crunch.
He screamed, firing a wild shot from his pistol, but the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the steel ceiling as he stumbled backward, dropping the gun and clutching his shattered nose, howling in agony.
Before he could recover and reach for his weapon, the entire panic room door was blown completely off its hinges with a deafening explosion.
Thick gray smoke poured into the tiny room.
Through the haze, a towering, terrifying figure stepped inside.
Lorenzo.
He was covered in dust, blood, and ash, looking like the god of war himself. He didn't say a single word.
He walked slowly over to Marcus, who was bleeding profusely on the floor, desperately trying to crawl toward his dropped pistol.
Lorenzo calmly placed his heavy combat boot on Marcus's outstretched wrist, crushing it against the steel floor with a sickening snap.
Marcus shrieked, thrashing in pain.
Lorenzo slowly raised his weapon, aiming it down at the pathetic, broken man who had ruined my life.
"This is for Lily," Lorenzo said, his voice echoing like thunder in the small room.
Three deafening shots rang out in rapid succession.
May you like
Marcus went completely, permanently still.
Lorenzo lowered his gun, turned to me, and dropped to his knees. He pulled me and Leo into his broad chest, burying his face in my hair. The nightmare was finally, truly over.
