Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
The heavy mahogany door splinters exploded into the study.
Helen stepped into the room, a towel pressed against her shattered nose, her eyes filled with psychotic fury. Behind her stood three heavily armed mercenaries.
"Where is she?" Helen snarled, pointing her gun directly at Claire’s forehead. "Open the vault!"
Claire stood tall in front of the seamless bookcase, her arms folded, her chin raised high. "You'll have to tear this building down to open that door, Helen. And by then, the NYPD and Gabriel’s loyal forces will be here."
"Gabriel is dead!" Helen spat, stepping up and striking Claire across the face with the butt of her pistol.
Claire stumbled back against the bookcase, the taste of metallic copper filling her mouth, but she didn't fall. She wiped the blood from her lip and looked at Helen with pure contempt. "Gabriel isn't dead. Men like him don't die because of snakes like you."
At that exact moment, the private elevator doors at the end of the hall exploded open with a shattering roar.
Heavy gunfire echoed through the penthouse like thunder. Shouts, groans, and the brutal sound of close-quarters combat ripped through the foyer.
Helen’s men turned in panic, but before they could raise their rifles, the study doors were kicked open with violent force.
Gabriel Varrick stood in the doorway.
He was covered in dirt and blood, his jacket torn, his gray eyes blazing with the apocalyptic fury of a god of war. Behind him stood a dozen loyal, heavily armed enforcers, holding the penthouse perimeter.
Gabriel took one look at Claire—seeing the blood trickling from her lip—and then looked at Helen.
"Gabriel..." Helen gasped, backing away until her spine hit the wall, her gun hand shaking uncontrollably. "How... how did you escape Red Hook?"
"Victor was weak," Gabriel said, his voice terrifyingly quiet as he stepped into the room, dropping a spent magazine from his pistol and clicking a fresh one into place. "He talked after five minutes. He told me everything about you, Helen."
"Gabriel, please!" Helen begged, dropping her weapon to the floor, her hands lifted in desperate surrender. "I was forced! Moretti threatened my family! I had no choice!"
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He didn't deliver a villainous speech. He raised his weapon and fired a single shot.
Helen collapsed to the floor, dead before she hit the marble.
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Gabriel immediately tossed his weapon to one of his men and rushed toward Claire, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Claire! Are you hurt? Where is Lily?"
Claire let out a long, ragged breath, tears spilling over her cheeks as the adrenaline finally crashed. "She’s inside the vault... she’s safe, Gabriel. She’s safe."
