Chapter 6 - THE STANDOFF
The threat hung in the cool night air like a guillotine blade.
Inside the safe room, Claire clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes darted from the monitor showing the driveway to the heavy steel door of the panic room. It could withstand bullets, but it couldn't stop explosives. If Falcone’s men got into the house, it was only a matter of time.
On the monitor, Dominic didn’t flinch.
He stood up slowly, the tiny brass locker key hidden in his closed fist. He looked at Falcone, then at Silvio, who still had his gun raised.
“You broke the truce, Vincent,” Dominic said, his voice echoing through the security feed. “You come to my home. On my daughter’s birthday.”
“Your wife broke the truce four years ago, Dominic,” Falcone replied calmly, adjusting his silk tie. “She got curious. She started digging into the union accounts. She found the ledger proving I was skimming from your own construction sites. If that ledger goes to the Commission, I’m a dead man.”
Falcone stepped closer. “I warned her to stop. But she was stubborn. So, I had to make an arrangement with Dr. Calder. A small adjustment to her chemotherapy treatments. Such a tragic, natural loss.”
Claire gasped.
Dominic’s body went completely rigid. The truth of Rebecca’s death—murdered by her own doctor on the orders of a rival—slammed into him. The grief and rage radiating from him were visible even through the camera lens.
“You killed her,” Dominic whispered.
“I protected my family,” Falcone corrected. “Now, she hid the locker key with the ledger. Marcus finally figured out it was in the kid’s bracelet. Hand over the key, Dominic. I’ll let you and the kid leave New Jersey alive. Silvio takes over the territory.”
Dominic looked down at his fist.
He slowly opened his hand, revealing the brass key. It caught the glare of the headlights.
“You want it?” Dominic asked.
“Be smart, Dominic,” Falcone coaxed.
Dominic looked at Silvio. Then he looked at Vanessa, who was cowering near the car tire.
“I’ll give you the key, Vincent,” Dominic said softly. “On one condition.”
Falcone frowned. “You aren’t in a position to negotiate.”
“I am,” Dominic said. He raised his fist over his head. “Because if I throw this key into the storm drain ten feet to my left, it washes into the municipal sewer system. It’s gone forever. The Commission will eventually notice the missing money, and you die anyway.”
Falcone held up a hand, stopping his men from moving. “What’s the condition?”
“The maid and my daughter leave first. In one of your SUVs. Once they are safely past the gates, I hand you the key.”
Inside the panic room, Claire’s heart shattered.
Dominic was trading his empire, his revenge, and his life for Lily’s safety. And he was trusting Claire to take her.
“Fine,” Falcone agreed. “Bring them out.”
Dominic reached for his radio. “Claire. Bring her down. Front door.”
Claire looked at Lily, who was oblivious, watching cartoons with her headphones on.
Tears pricked Claire’s eyes, but she blinked them back. She couldn't afford to cry. She pulled the headphones off Lily.
“Time to go, sweetie,” Claire said, her voice completely steady. “Daddy wants us to take a special car ride.”
“Okay!” Lily smiled, grabbing Claire’s hand.
Claire unlocked the steel door. They walked down the grand staircase, the house eerily silent. Every step felt like walking toward an execution.
When they reached the front doors, Claire pushed them open.
The bright headlights blinded her. She pulled Lily tight against her side, shielding the girl’s eyes.
Dominic looked at Claire. There was a profound, silent gratitude in his eyes. He gave her a small nod.
“Get in the black SUV on the left,” Dominic instructed.
Claire moved toward the vehicle. A Falcone goon opened the back door.
But as Claire reached the door, she stopped.
She looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa’s duffel bag was still spilled on the ground. Amidst the cash and passports, Claire saw something else. Something that shouldn't be there.
It was a small, silver rosary.
Claire knew that rosary. It belonged to Rebecca. It was the rosary Rebecca held in her hospital bed when she died.
But Dr. Calder had told everyone that the rosary was lost at the hospital.
How did Vanessa have it?
Claire’s mind raced, connecting the dots. Vanessa pawning the bracelet. Vanessa pushing for the new allergy classification. Vanessa having the rosary.
Vanessa wasn’t a victim being blackmailed by Marcus.
Vanessa was the inside woman. She had been working with Falcone from the very beginning.
“Dominic!” Claire screamed. “Don’t give him the key! Vanessa has the rosary!”
Vanessa’s face contorted in panic. “Shut up, you stupid bitch!”
She lunged forward, grabbing the gun from Silvio’s hand with lightning speed.
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Before anyone could react, Vanessa aimed the weapon directly at Claire’s chest.
“Give him the key, Dominic,” Vanessa shrieked, her mask completely gone, revealing the cold, calculating monster underneath. “Or I kill the maid, and then I kill the brat!”
