Chapter 5 - The Shattered MaskVictory in high society is sweet, but in the dark underbelly of New York, a wounded animal is always the most dangerous.
The night of the gala was hailed as a legendary triumph for the Moretti family. Alderman Hayes was arrested by federal agents forty-eight hours later based on the financial evidence Vincent released, destroying Mark’s political shield. Don Lucani surrendered his shipping territories to Vincent in exchange for his life and fled to Italy.
Mark was left with nothing—no money, no status, and no protection.
Yet, a man who has lost everything has nothing left to lose.
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Vincent was at his downtown headquarters overseeing the transfer of the new shipping docks, while I remained at the penthouse under the watch of four heavy guards. My arm was healing remarkably well, and the brace had finally been removed, leaving only a faint scar where the surgery had taken place.
I was sitting in the glass sunroom reading a book when the emergency lights suddenly flashed red.
BOOM.
A muffled explosion rocked the basement service elevator. The sound of rapid, silenced gunfire rang out from the private lobby downstairs.
I leaped up, my heart pounding against my ribs. "Mateo!"
Mateo burst into the room, his gun drawn, his face tight with urgency. "Lena, move! Someone bypassed the main lobby security through the building's maintenance shaft! They've cut the main power and communications!"
"Who is it?" I asked, following him rapidly down the reinforced hallway toward the safe room.
"It's a suicide run," Mateo grunted, taking cover at the corner. "It's Mark. He used his family's old security clearance codes from when his uncle built this complex. He’s crazy, Lena! He brought three hired mercenaries with him!"
Before we could reach the heavy steel door of the safe room, two smoke grenades clattered down the hallway, releasing thick, gray clouds of chemical smoke.
Coughing violently, Mateo fired three rounds into the haze. Return fire spat through the smoke. Mateo gasped, taking a bullet to his shoulder, slamming hard against the wall.
"Mateo!" I cried, trying to help him up.
"Go! Inside!" Mateo bled through his suit, pushing me toward the safe room keypad. "Punch the code! 4-8-9—"
A heavy, booted foot kicked Mateo in the head, knocking him unconscious.
I scrambled backward on the carpet, gasping for air as the smoke cleared. Standing over Mateo was Mark.
He looked unhinged. His clothes were filthy, his hair matted, his eyes bloodshot and crazed. He held a heavy revolver in his left hand, his own broken arm still bound in a clumsy sling.
"Hello, sweetheart," Mark sneered, his voice raspy and manic. "Did you miss me?"
"Mark... stop this," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady as I slowly backed away toward the edge of the living room counter. "It's over. You've lost everything. If you kill me, Vincent will hunt you to the ends of the earth."
"Vincent isn't here!" Mark shrieked, stepping over Mateo's unconscious body, raising the revolver at my chest. "He took my life, my money, my reputation! But most of all, he made everyone laugh at me! They think I'm weak! They think I couldn't keep my own woman!"
He took two fast steps forward, grabbing me by the throat with his good hand, shoving me violently against the marble counter. Pain flared in my back, but I refused to cry out.
"You belong to me, Lena!" Mark growled, his face inches from mine, his hot breath smelling of cheap liquor. "If I can't have you, nobody will. I'm going to shoot you right here, and then I'm going to wait for your little mob boss to come home so I can put a bullet in his head too!"
I looked into the eyes of the monster who had tormented me for five years. The terror that used to paralyze me didn't come back. Instead, a cold, fiery rage surged through my veins.
Not another bone.
My fear is broken.
"You're wrong, Mark," I whispered, looking him dead in the eye.
"What did you say?!" he roared, tightening his grip on my throat.
May you like
"I said," I hissed, "you're weak."
With my right hand, I reached behind me on the marble counter, my fingers wrapping around the heavy, solid silver ice bucket. With every ounce of strength in my body, I swung it upward, smashing it directly into the side of Mark’s face.
Related Stories
