Chapter 4 - Blood and Promises
The passage was cold and smelled of old brick and damp earth. Grace guided the children down the steep wooden stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Above them, the muffled sounds of gunfire and shouting echoed through the floorboards.
"Miss Grace, I'm scared," Lily whispered, her tiny body trembling.
"I know, baby," Grace murmured, kissing the top of Lily's head as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "But I'm right here. Your dad is the strongest man in the world, remember? He's making sure the bad guys go away. We just have to reach the garage."
She pushed open the heavy metal door at the end of the passage, stepping into the lower-level parking bay.
Suddenly, a flashlight beam blinded her.
"Well, well. Look what we have here."
A man stepped out of the shadows. It wasn't one of Moretti’s men.
It was Leo, one of Vincent’s trusted captains. He was holding a silenced pistol, a cold, treacherous smirk on his face.
"Leo," Grace gasped, instinctively pushing the children behind her.
"You're a brave little maid, aren't you?" Leo sneered, stepping closer. "But your boss’s reign is over. Moretti paid me a lifetime of wealth to hand over the twins. Vincent is too weak, too soft now. He cares more about these dying brats than the business. It’s time for new management in Chicago."
"You're a monster," Grace said, her voice shaking with rage. "They are children. They are sick!"
"They're leverage," Leo corrected, raising his gun. "Step aside, sweetheart. I don't want to waste a bullet on the help, but I will if I have to."
Grace looked at the gun, then down at Noah and Lily, who were clinging to her legs. She remembered her daughter Ruby. She remembered the helpless feeling of watching her child fade away while she could do nothing.
Not again.
Never again.
With a fierce cry, Grace grabbed a heavy metal fire extinguisher from the wall and hurled it at Leo’s head.
The heavy cylinder struck him square in the face. Leo groaned, stumbling backward as his gun fired, the bullet ricocheting off the concrete ceiling.
Before he could recover, Grace lunged forward, grabbing his gun hand and slamming it against the concrete pillar. The weapon clattered to the floor. Leo, enraged, backhanded her across the face. The force of the blow sent Grace crashing to the ground, her lip split and bleeding.
"You stupid b—" Leo snarled, reaching for the fallen gun.
A thunderous bang echoed through the garage.
Leo froze. His eyes went wide as a neat, red circle appeared in the center of his chest. He collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Vincent stood at the entrance of the garage, his jacket torn, blood dripping from a cut on his temple, his gun still smoking.
He didn't look at Leo's body. He ran straight to Grace, dropping to his knees and cupping her face with his hands.
"Grace! Are you alright?" his voice cracked, a rare display of raw, unedited terror.
Grace wiped the blood from her lip, looking up at him with a weak smile. "I didn't let him touch them."
Vincent looked behind her, where Noah and Lily were peeking out from behind a concrete pillar, terrified but completely unharmed.
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Vincent pulled Grace into his chest, holding her tight. For a long moment, the feared mafia boss simply held the poor maid in the dark basement, his heart beating a frantic rhythm against her shoulder.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you."
