Chapter 7 - The Gold Cane
"Tony!" Gabriel yelled, diving behind the hood of the SUV. He laid down a suppressive fire, forcing Vincenzo’s men to scatter behind the stone pillars of the carriage house.
Chloe pulled Beatrice down to the floorboards of the backseat, her hands covering the older woman’s head. Outside, the deafening roar of gunfire echoed like thunder in the enclosed space. The SUV's windows shattered, showering them in safety glass.
"Give me the key, Elena's brat!" Vincenzo screamed over the gunfire, his voice echoing with manic desperation. "Give me the ledger, and I’ll let Gabriel live! You have my word!"
"Your word is worth nothing, old man!" Gabriel shouted back. He checked his magazine. He was down to four bullets. Tony was bleeding heavily on the floor nearby, groaning in pain. They were completely outgunned.
Chloe looked at the silver key in her hand. It was the only leverage they had left. If Vincenzo got it, he would destroy the ledger and kill them all anyway.
We have to fight, Beatrice signed, looking up at Chloe with eyes that held no fear, only decades of suppressed rage.
"We don't have guns," Chloe whispered back, panic threatening to choke her.
Beatrice reached under the passenger seat of the SUV. Her hand emerged holding a sleek, silver flare gun. She looked at Chloe, pointed at the rusted fuel tanks stacked against the far wall of the carriage house, and smiled—a cold, terrifying Costello smile.
Chloe understood instantly.
"Gabriel!" Chloe screamed. "Get Tony in the car!"
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He broke from cover, grabbed Tony by his good arm, and hauled him into the passenger seat as bullets chewed up the concrete around his feet. Gabriel dove into the driver's seat and slammed the SUV into drive.
"Get down!" Chloe yelled.
She rolled down the remaining jagged glass of the back window. Vincenzo stood twenty feet away, raising his gold cane to point directly at her.
Chloe aimed the flare gun at the rusted fuel tanks and pulled the trigger.
A blinding red streak shot across the carriage house. It struck the tanks perfectly.
The explosion was monumental. A wall of orange fire erupted, blowing the roof off the carriage house and throwing Vincenzo’s men backward like ragdolls. The shockwave rocked the SUV, but Gabriel floored the gas pedal.
The heavy vehicle smashed through the burning debris, breaking out into the freezing rain and tearing down the winding driveway toward the main gates.
"The gates are locked!" Tony groaned from the front seat, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Not for long," Gabriel growled. He didn't hit the brakes. He accelerated.
The two-ton SUV slammed into the wrought-iron gates at sixty miles an hour. The metal groaned, snapped, and gave way, sending the gates crashing into the street. Gabriel drifted onto the wet asphalt, the tires screaming, and sped away into the dark.
For ten minutes, nobody spoke. The only sound was the heavy rain beating against the windshield and Tony’s ragged breathing.
Chloe sat up slowly, brushing glass from her hair. She looked at Beatrice. The older woman was unharmed, her eyes fixed out the window.
"Where are we going?" Chloe asked, her voice shaking with adrenaline.
"Downtown," Gabriel said, his hands tight on the steering wheel. "To the bank."
"It’s midnight on a Saturday," Chloe said. "The bank is closed."
"Not when you own the building," Gabriel replied coldly.
Thirty minutes later, the SUV screeched to a halt in the underground parking garage of a towering Manhattan high-rise. Gabriel dragged Tony out, supporting his weight, while Chloe helped Beatrice.
They took a private elevator to the sub-basement. A terrified night manager, roused by Gabriel’s call, was waiting with shaking hands.
"Vault 402," Gabriel demanded.
The manager unlocked the massive steel doors and fled. Chloe stepped into the silent, sterile room filled with brass lockboxes. She found 402. Her hands trembled as she inserted the silver bracelet clasp into the lock.
It turned with a heavy click.
Chloe pulled the long metal box out and opened it. Inside sat a thick, black leather ledger. And resting on top of it was a sealed envelope with her name on it.
Chloe tore the envelope open. Inside was a handwritten letter from her mother.
My dearest Chloe,If you are reading this, the monster has found you. I am so sorry. I tried to bury the past, but evil rarely stays in the ground. The ledger in this box contains Vincenzo’s sins. But more importantly, it contains the names of the men in the Five Families who he betrayed. Give this to Gabriel. Tell him Vincenzo ordered the hit on the Barone family in '98 and blamed it on the Russians. The moment the old bosses see this, Vincenzo is a dead man.
Chloe handed the letter and the ledger to Gabriel.
Gabriel opened the book. His eyes scanned the pages, widening with every passing second. "This... this is an execution warrant. He didn't just betray our family. He betrayed the entire Commission."
"We give it to the police," Chloe said.
"No," Gabriel said softly, closing the book. "Vincenzo owns the police. We take this to the Commission. Tonight. They're gathering at the Plaza Hotel for the winter gala."
Chloe remembered the ballroom. The frozen guests. The culmination of everything.
"Gabriel," Chloe said, looking at him. "He'll kill us before we get through the doors."
Gabriel looked at her, his gray eyes softening into something profound. "He’s going to try. But you are Elena’s daughter. You’ve survived worse. Are you with me?"
May you like
Chloe looked at the silver bracelet in her hand. She thought of Leo.
"I'm with you."
