Chapter 6 - THE ENGAGEMENT RING AND THE REVOLVER
Laurel’s hands were shaking, but the gun was level.
“Give me the ledger, Tessa.”
I held Mia behind me, pressing the heavy leather book against my side.
“Laurel, don't do this. Nico will kill you.”
“Nico is already dead,” Laurel sneered, though the panic in her eyes betrayed her confidence. “Marcus’s men have him trapped in the garage. It’s over.”
Mia whimpered, burying her face against my leg.
“You’re pointing a gun at a six-year-old,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You helped raise her.”
“I didn't raise her,” Laurel spat. “I tolerated her. Just like I tolerated Nico and this entire backwards mafia family. I just wanted the money.”
She gestured with the gun.
“The ledger. Now.”
“Why do you want it so badly?”
“Because it’s my ticket out!” Laurel’s voice cracked. “Marcus promised me half the buyout if I found it. The Whitman family went bankrupt twenty years ago because Nico’s father cut them off. That ledger is our leverage to take it all back.”
I looked at the heavy book in my hands.
Then I noticed Laurel’s left hand.
The massive, three-carat diamond engagement ring Nico had given her was missing.
In its place was a red, raw indentation on her finger.
“You took the ring off,” I said softly.
Laurel flinched.
“It was a collar, not a ring. Give me the book.”
She stepped closer, pulling the hammer back on the revolver.
Click.
I had nowhere to go.
If I gave her the ledger, she would shoot me anyway to leave no witnesses.
If I didn't, she would shoot me now.
I took a slow breath.
“Okay,” I said. “Take it.”
I held the heavy ledger out with one hand.
Laurel reached for it, her eyes fixed on the prize.
As her fingers touched the leather, I didn't let go.
Instead, I used its weight.
I shoved the heavy book upward, slamming it directly into Laurel’s wrist.
The gun fired wildly, the bullet shattering the crystal chandelier above us.
Glass rained down.
Laurel screamed and dropped the gun.
I didn't wait.
I grabbed Mia, pushed past Laurel, and threw open the door to Nico’s office.
I slammed it shut behind us and locked the deadbolt.
I rushed to the heavy oak bookshelf on the far wall.
Nico had left his panic room open once while I was cleaning. I knew how it worked.
I pulled the specific volume of Dante’s Inferno.
The bookshelf clicked and swung open.
I pushed Mia inside the small, reinforced steel room.
“Stay here,” I told her. “Don't come out until Uncle Nico tells you to.”
Mia hugged her stuffed rabbit.
“Are you coming too, Tessa?”
I looked at the heavy leather ledger in my hands.
“I have to go help him.”
I shut the steel door, sealing her safely inside.
I turned back to the office just as the heavy wooden door splintered.
A man kicked it open.
It wasn't Laurel.
It was one of Marcus’s mercenaries.
He saw me, saw the ledger, and raised his weapon.
Before he could pull the trigger, a massive figure materialized behind him in the doorway.
It was Frank.
The sixty-two-year-old driver grabbed the mercenary by the back of his tactical vest and hurled him backward into the hallway wall with terrifying strength.
Frank stepped into the office, breathing heavily.
He held a crowbar in his right hand.
“Are you hurt, Tessa?”
“No,” I gasped. “Frank, how did you get past them?”
“I know this house better than they do,” Frank said grimly. “I secured Marcus in the basement. Mr. Ferraro is fighting his way up the main stairs.”
He looked at the ledger in my hands.
“Is that Elena’s book?”
I stared at him.
“You knew my mother?”
Frank’s face softened for a fraction of a second.
“I drove her to the train station the night she left, Tessa. She asked me to look out for you if you ever came looking for answers.”
Tears burned my eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Mr. Ferraro’s father made me swear to protect the secret. To protect you.”
A gunshot echoed from the main foyer downstairs.
Frank tightened his grip on the crowbar.
“Stay behind me.”
We moved out of the office and crept down the grand staircase.
The foyer was a war zone.
Two mercenaries lay motionless on the marble floor.
Nico was taking cover behind a massive stone pillar, exchanging fire with two more men positioned near the front doors.
“Nico!” I yelled.
He glanced back.
Seeing me safe, a fierce relief washed over his face.
But that momentary distraction was enough.
One of the mercenaries broke cover and aimed his rifle directly at Nico’s exposed side.
“No!”
Frank didn't shout.
He didn't hesitate.
The loyal driver threw himself forward, placing his body between Nico and the gunman.
The rifle fired.
Frank jerked violently as the bullet caught him in the shoulder.
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He collapsed onto the stairs.
TITLE: THE DEBT PAID IN BLOOD
