Chapter 6 - The Federal Trap
Chaos erupted inside the warehouse.
“You set me up!” Marcone screamed at Gabriel, drawing a chrome plated pistol from his shoulder holster.
“I didn't call the FBI, Nicholas,” Gabriel replied calmly, not even bothering to reach for a gun. “Nora did.”
Marcone froze, his eyes darting to me in sheer disbelief. “What?!”
“Three days ago, when I pulled Chloe’s files from the bank,” I explained, standing tall and unwavering in my crimson dress, “I forwarded every single offshore transfer record, every forged property deed, and every recorded conversation between Chloe and your lieutenants directly to the Organized Crime Task Force.”
On the giant projector screen, the video feed shifted to show Chloe sitting in an interrogation room downtown, weeping hysterically while her court-appointed lawyer held her head in his hands.
“Your stepsister made a full confession two hours ago, Miss Sterling,” Agent Miller’s voice echoed over the intercom. “She confirmed that Nicholas Marcone ordered the forging of Arthur Sterling’s death certificates and land titles.”
Marcone’s face turned gray. He looked around at his twenty armed enforcers, who were already slowly dropping their carbines onto the concrete floor, realizing that shooting their way out of a federal blockade was suicide.
“You bloody little snake...” Diane whimpered from her chair, blood dripping from her nose. “Nora... how could you do this to your own family?!”
I walked over to Diane, stopping right in front of her bruised, pathetic form.
“You sold me for fifty thousand dollars in a greasy alley behind a diner, Diane,” I said softly, looking down at her without a trace of pity left in my heart. “You let my father die in pain so you could spend his insurance money on casino markers. You aren't my family. You’re just a thief who ran out of time.”
Flashbang grenades suddenly shattered the high skylights above.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Blinding white light and thunderous concussive blasts filled the warehouse air. Federal SWAT agents in heavy body armor descended from ropes suspended from the rafters, shouting orders, tackling Marcone’s men to the ground.
In the blinding smoke and chaos, Marcone tried to grab me, raising his chrome pistol toward my chest.
“If I’m going down, you’re coming with me!” he screamed.
Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, Gabriel moved with terrifying speed.
He lunged forward, grabbing Marcone’s wrist, twisting it sharply until the bone snapped with a sickening crack. The chrome gun fell to the floor. Gabriel followed through with a devastating knee to Marcone’s ribs, dropping the mob boss to the concrete floor like a sack of stones.
Gabriel stood over Marcone, stepping heavily on his broken wrist.
“I told you,” Gabriel growled softly, leaning down toward Marcone’s ear. “She’s under my protection.”
SWAT agents swarmed the podium area, securing Marcone in steel cuffs and dragging Diane toward the exit doors as she wailed and screamed my name.
Agent Miller stepped through the smoke, holding an official folder.
He looked at Gabriel, then looked at me.
“Miss Sterling,” Agent Miller said, nodding respectfully. “The federal government thanks you for your cooperation. The evidence you provided has completely dismantled the Marcone syndicate.”
“And what about Gabriel?” I asked, holding my breath, stepping closer to Gabriel’s side.
Agent Miller looked at Gabriel, a small, knowing smile touching his lips.
“Mr. Costa’s attorneys filed a formal immunity agreement three hours ago,” Miller revealed. “In exchange for providing the internal server access that allowed us to trap Marcone tonight, all pending inquiries regarding Costa Enterprises have been cleared.”
I turned my head to look at Gabriel.
May you like
He looked down at me, a soft, rare smile softening his sharp features.
“I told you, Nora,” Gabriel murmured, sliding his warm hand into mine, his fingers intertwining with my velvet glove. “I never lose.”
