Chapter 5 - The Reckoning
The heavy steel doors of the underground garage slammed shut, sealing Marcus Dean inside with five heavily armed men.
Marcus was bleeding from a split lip, shivering violently as he looked at the stone-faced mercenaries surrounding him.
He had expected to intimidate a rich family into handing over Clara.
Instead, he was staring into the cold, dead eyes of Vincenzo Costa.
"You have no idea whose property you just stepped onto, do you?" Vincenzo asked, circling the terrified man.
"I just want my girl," Marcus spat, trying to sound tough despite the tremor in his voice. "She owes me money."
Vincenzo stopped pacing.
He looked at Marcus, really looked at him, seeing the coward who had shoved a pregnant woman down a flight of concrete stairs.
"She owes you nothing," Vincenzo said softly. "But you owe a debt for a life you extinguished."
Marcus paled, finally realizing that the man standing before him was not a simple wealthy homeowner.
"Please, man, I didn't know she was with the mob," Marcus begged, dropping to his knees.
Vincenzo drew his weapon, the metallic click echoing loudly against the concrete walls.
"She is the mother to my son right now," Vincenzo stated, his tone devoid of mercy.
"And nobody threatens my family and breathes the next day."
A single, suppressed gunshot echoed through the subterranean chamber.
Vincenzo turned on his heel, holstering his weapon without a second glance at the floor.
"Clean it up," he ordered his men, stepping into the private elevator.
He needed to go upstairs; he needed to see his son and the woman who had saved him.
May you like
When he reached the third floor, he paused outside the nursery, washing his hands thoroughly in the adjoining hall bathroom.
He would not bring blood into the room where Clara was healing his world.
