Chapter 8 - The Shadow at the Docks
Before Dante could take another step back, Vincent’s hand shot out like a steel trap, grabbing Dante by the throat and slamming him violently against a marble pillar!
Glassware shattered on adjacent tables. Guests screamed, scattering in terror as the peaceful gala erupted into chaos!
"You sold my family, Dante?" Vincent growled, his face inches from the traitor's, his grip tightening until Dante’s eyes bulged with panic.
"Vincent, look around!" Dante choked out, gesturing wildly toward the balcony above.
A dozen armed men in dark suits stepped up to the second-floor railing, aiming submachine guns down at the crowd! Don Alberto Falcone stood behind them, a triumphant, wicked grin plastered across his aged face.
"Drop your weapon, Moretti!" Alberto shouted over the microphone system, his voice echoing through the grand hall. "The syndicate belongs to the Falcone family now! You die tonight!"
The crowd panicked, stampeding toward the main exits as sirens began to wail in the distance.
Vincent didn't panic. He didn't drop his grip on Dante. Instead, he pulled a small black remote from his coat pocket and pressed the central button.
Instantly, the hotel's heavy iron blast shutters slammed down over every exit, locking the hall into complete darkness as the main power grid was killed!
Generators kicked on three seconds later, bathing the room in red emergency light.
From the shadows, fifty of Vincent’s elite enforcers—men who had entered the hotel hours earlier disguised as staff and security—pulled heavy weaponry from beneath catering tables and opened fire on the balcony guards!
The room erupted into a thunderous warzone!
"Frank! Get Elise out through the service tunnel!" Vincent roared over the noise of heavy gunfire, shoving the gasping Dante toward his men before drawing two pistols from his coat.
"No! Vincent, come with us!" I screamed as Frank grabbed my waist, dragging me back toward the kitchen doors.
"I have to end this once and for all, Elise!" Vincent shouted back, turning to face Alberto's men with a terrifying, vengeful fury in his eyes. "Take her to the docks! I will meet you at the boat!"
Frank hauled me through the stainless-steel kitchens, stepping over fallen attackers as we burst out into the rainy rear alleyway. A black armored SUV was waiting, its engine roaring.
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"In! Now!" Frank yelled, throwing open the heavy door.
We scrambled inside, the vehicle tearing down the alleyway just as a second car pulled out from the shadows, giving chase through the rain-slicked streets of New York!
