Chapter 10 - The Threshold of Tomorrow
A year later.
The Marquette estate was bathed in the bright, warm sunlight of a perfect summer morning. The marble floors gleamed, and the air was filled with the smell of fresh coffee and blooming roses from the open garden doors.
Elena stood in the massive kitchen, wearing a beautiful, flowing cream dress that accentuated the gentle, growing curve of her pregnant belly. She smiled as she watched the chaotic, beautiful scene unfolding in the adjoining sitting area.
Vincent was sitting on the floor beside the fiddle-leaf fig. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, minus the jacket, ready for a major syndicate meeting downtown. But right now, the terrifying mafia boss was entirely occupied with hosting a tea party for Lily, her stuffed rabbit, and a highly uncomfortable-looking Marco, who was awkwardly holding a tiny pink teacup.
You must drink the tea, Marco, Lily demanded, her hands on her hips, her burgundy bow bouncing as she frowned at the towering bodyguard. The rabbit made it especially for you.
Marco looked at Vincent for help. Vincent simply smirked, taking a sip from his own invisible cup. Do as the lady says, Marco.
Marco sighed, pretending to take a loud sip from the tiny plastic cup. Delicious, he muttered, making Elena laugh out loud from the kitchen.
Vincent stood up, dusting off his dark trousers, and walked over to Elena. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his large hands gently on her pregnant belly. He kissed her cheek, his intense gray eyes filled with a soft, enduring love.
I have to go to the city, Vincent murmured, his deep voice vibrating against her back. The council is meeting to finalize the new shipping contracts. I should be home by dinner.
Elena leaned back into him, completely safe and entirely at peace. We’ll be waiting for you.
Vincent kissed her one last time before turning to leave. He ruffled Lily’s curls, earning a stern warning about messing up her hair, and walked out the heavy mahogany doors with Marco close behind.
As the black SUVs rolled out of the estate gates, Adrian remained behind in the command center beneath the library. He was monitoring the perimeter feeds, his sharp eyes scanning the high-definition cameras that guarded the estate. Everything was green. The fortress was impenetrable.
Suddenly, a highly encrypted alert popped up on Adrian’s secure terminal.
It wasn't a perimeter breach. It was a digital ping from a deep-web monitoring program Adrian had set up to watch the federal prison where James Reyes was being held.
Adrian clicked the alert, his fair skin paling slightly as he read the classified dispatch.
Inmate transfer intercepted. Convict James Reyes missing. Federal transport vehicle found abandoned on Route 9. No bodies recovered.
Adrian stared at the screen, the silence in the bunker feeling incredibly heavy. James hadn't just escaped. Someone powerful had orchestrated a highly sophisticated extraction. And there was only one syndicate in the country bold enough to hit a federal transport just to get their hands on a man who knew the secrets of the Rossi and Marquette families.
Adrian pulled out his secure phone, dialing Vincent’s direct line.
Vincent answered on the second ring, the sound of the SUV tires humming in the background. Yes, Adrian?
Boss, Adrian said quietly, keeping his voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through his veins. We have a situation. James Reyes broke out of federal custody this morning. Or rather, he was broken out.
Vincent’s silence on the other end of the line was absolute and terrifying.
Who took him? Vincent’s voice dropped to a lethal, icy whisper.
I’m running the signatures now, Adrian replied, his fingers flying across the keyboard. But the tactical precision... it looks like the Petrov syndicate. The Russians are moving in on Chicago, and they need James to give them the layout of the Rossi operations.
If the Russians have him, Vincent said coldly, then he is a liability to my family. Double the guards at the estate. Nobody gets in or out without my explicit authorization. Do not tell Elena. I am turning the cars around.
Understood, boss, Adrian said, ending the call.
Back in the bright, cinematic kitchen, Elena hummed happily as she washed a few dishes, completely oblivious to the gathering storm. Lily was sitting on the pristine white couch, reading a book to her stuffed rabbit, her bare feet swinging happily in the air.
May you like
The house was peaceful, beautiful, and completely unaware that the ghosts of the past refused to stay buried.
Vincent’s SUVs tore back up the private road, the mafia boss preparing to go to war once again to protect the light in his life. The threshold of tomorrow was uncertain, but one thing was absolute: Vincent Marquette would burn the world to the ground before he let anyone bring darkness back into his home.
