Chapter 9 - Serpent at the Gates
The storm raged over downtown Chicago,
plunging the streets around Michigan Avenue into a dark,
rain-soaked nightmare.
Water ran down the high glass windows of the Drake Hotel's luxury suite on the fourteenth floor.
Vanessa sat on a plush velvet sofa,
sipping a glass of vintage champagne,
her legs crossed elegantly as she waited for her phone to ring.
She smiled to herself,
admiring the massive diamond ring on her finger.
"You always thought you were untouchable,
Nathan,"
she whispered aloud to the empty,
opulent room.
"You treated me like an accessory.
Now let's see how much your precious charity girl saves you when Dante's men tear your world apart."
The electronic keycard lock on the suite door suddenly clicked.
The heavy oak door swung open with a slow,
menacing creak.
Vanessa turned her head,
expecting to see Dante Moretti entering with his celebration news.
Instead,
I walked into the room.
I was dressed in a long black trench coat,
soaked with rain,
my hand resting calmly inside my pocket.
Behind me,
Marco stepped through the door,
holding a sound-suppressed pistol at his side,
followed by four masked enforcers who instantly secured the room's hallway.
Vanessa dropped her champagne glass.
The crystal shattered against the hardwood floor,
spilling golden liquid across the fine Persian rug.
Her face turned as white as a bedsheet,
her lips parting in sheer,
unadulterated terror.
"Nathan..."
she squeaked,
her voice shrinking into a pathetic whimpering sound.
"How...
how did you get in here?"
I walked slowly toward her,
my wet boots leaving dark,
watery footprints on the floor.
I stopped right in front of the sofa,
looking down at her with a look of utter disgust.
"You always were short-sighted,
Vanessa,"
I said softly,
my tone flat and emotionless.
"You thought Dante Moretti was strong enough to protect you from me?"
"Nathan,
please!"
she babbled,
scrambling backward onto the sofa cushions,
her hands raised in desperate supplication.
"He forced me!
Dante threatened to kill me if I didn't give him information!
I had no choice!
You know I still love you,
Nathan!"
"You love money,"
I corrected her coldly.
"And you love the status my name provided.
You sold my logistics routes,
you sold my safehouses,
and most unforgivably,
you tried to put a hit squad on an innocent woman who has ten times the character you will ever possess."
I gestured to Marco with a slight nod of my head.
Marco stepped forward,
placing a manila envelope on the coffee table in front of her.
"What...
what is that?"
she sobbed,
her chest heaving.
"That is your complete liquidation,"
I revealed.
"Every bank account in your name has been frozen.
Your cars have been repossessed.
Your townhouse on Lake Shore Drive was sold twenty minutes ago to a commercial developer.
You have sixty seconds to grab your purse and leave this city forever."
Vanessa stared at the envelope,
then looked up at me,
her fear suddenly twisting into a hideous,
ugly rage.
"You can't do this to me!"
she shrieked,
her fingernails digging into the leather sofa.
"I was your wife!
You can't ruin me for some pathetic,
penniless welfare girl from Western Avenue!"
I leaned down,
bringing my face inches from hers,
my dark eyes pinning her like a fly to a wall.
"If you are still within the state borders of Illinois by sunrise,"
I whispered,
my voice so low it chilled the air in the room,
"I will make sure you disappear into the same cold river where I am about to throw Dante Moretti."
She choked back a scream,
scrambling off the sofa so fast she tripped over her high heels.
She grabbed her designer purse from the table and sprinted out of the suite,
her frantic footsteps echoing down the long,
empty carpeted hallway until they faded into silence.
Marco walked over to the window,
looking down at the rainy street fourteen floors below.
"Moretti's convoy just pulled up to the rear entrance of the hotel,
boss,"
Marco reported,
checking the tactical display on his radio.
"He thinks he's meeting Vanessa here to collect his reward."
I pulled a pair of dark leather gloves from my coat pocket and pulled them onto my hands,
testing the grip.
"Tell the team to seal all exits,"
I commanded,
May you like
turning toward the door with an unforgiving glare in my eyes.
"No one leaves the Drake Hotel tonight."
