Chapter 4 - The Confrontation at the GateI couldn't stay in the bedroom.
After the female doctor finished wrapping my bruised ribs and applying a soothing salve to my shoulder, I put on a warm silk robe and crept quietly down the grand staircase toward the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the main foyer.
Outside, rain was beginning to pour, splashing against the stone driveway.
Beyond the heavy iron gates of the estate, blue and red police lights strobed rhythmically against the wet pavement. Four police cars were parked bumper-to-bumper, their engines idling.
Derek stood in the middle of the rain, wearing an expensive trench coat, his hair soaked and plastered to his forehead. Beside him stood a senior police captain, looking visibly uncomfortable.
Victor walked down the driveway alone, wearing no coat, completely indifferent to the falling rain. Marco and three armed guards followed five paces behind him, their hands resting comfortably inside their long dark coats.
Through the heavy reinforced glass of the foyer, I could hear their voices over the intercom system.
"Salvatore!" Derek screamed, his voice cracked with desperate fury. "Hand her over! You took my fiancée from a public event! That's kidnapping!"
Victor stopped two feet from the iron bars of the gate. He folded his arms across his broad chest, looking at Derek as if he were an annoying insect buzzing around his head.
"Captain Miller," Victor said, completely ignoring Derek and addressing the police officer instead. "Are you executing an official search warrant tonight?"
Captain Miller swallowed hard, shifting his weight nervously. "Mr. Salvatore... Mr. Hail filed an emergency report claiming Miss Marlo was removed from the Peninsula Hotel under duress."
"Miss Marlo walked out of that hotel on her own accord," Victor replied coolly. "She is currently resting inside as my invited guest. She is an adult, Captain. She does not belong to Mr. Hail."
"She is my wife-to-be!" Derek roared, slamming his hands against the iron gates. "She belongs with me! Open these damn gates, Victor, or I’ll have the department tear this place down!"
Victor took a slow step closer to the bars, leaning down until his face was inches from Derek’s.
"If you raise your voice on my property again, Hail," Victor said, his tone dropping into a pitch so dark and lethal that even the police officers took an instinctive step back, "I will publish the private ledger of your offshore accounts at midnight. By eight o'clock tomorrow morning, the IRS will seize your father's firm, and your credit lines will be canceled."
Derek’s ranting died instantly. He froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "What... how do you know about those accounts?"
"I know everything about you," Victor said smoothly. "I know about your debts in Macau. I know about your illegal land developments in the West Loop. And most importantly... I know what you did to Lena's ribs three nights ago."
Derek’s face turned from pale to ghostly green. "You... you can't prove anything."
"I don't need to prove anything in a court of law, Derek," Victor whispered, his eyes flashing like polished steel in the blue strobe lights. "I am giving you one chance. Walk away from this gate, surrender her engagement ring to my guards, and never speak her name again. If I see you within a hundred yards of her... I won't call the police. I will handle it personally."
Captain Miller placed a heavy hand on Derek’s soaked shoulder, pulling him back toward the police car. "Let's go, Derek. Now."
Derek stared at Victor with pure, unadulterated hatred, but the terror in his eyes was undeniable. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a small velvet box containing the engagement ring, and threw it onto the wet driveway.
May you like
Without another word, Derek turned and climbed into the police car. The convoy U-turned and sped away into the stormy night.
Victor looked down at the velvet box sitting in the rain. He didn't pick it up. He simply turned back toward the house, his eyes catching mine through the glass windows of the foyer.
