Chapter 4 - The Escape
The massive impact sent the heavy iron gates flying backward.
Vincent dove into the snowbank to avoid being crushed by the twisted metal.
The black SUV skidded to a halt right next to Charles Bellamy.
The back door swung open, and an unseen hand grabbed Charles by his tailored suit.
The lawyer was hauled violently into the vehicle before he could even scream.
Vincent scrambled to his feet and raised his gun, firing three rapid shots at the tires.
But the SUV was fully armored, the bullets sparking harmlessly off the reinforced rubber.
The vehicle reversed aggressively and sped away into the dark, freezing night.
Vincent stood alone in the snow, his breath forming white clouds in the cold air.
He had lost Charles, and he had lost the master key drive.
But he still had the old phone.
He rushed back inside the mansion and found Dominic securing the ballroom.
Isabella was sitting on a velvet sofa, crying softly into her hands.
Grace and Emily were huddled together in the corner, looking absolutely terrified.
“Did you get him?” Dominic asked, rushing over to his cousin.
“No, an extraction team grabbed him,” Vincent replied grimly.
He walked over to Grace and handed her the dead phone.
“I need a charger for this specific model right now,” Vincent ordered.
Grace nodded quickly and hurried off to the servant quarters to find a compatible cable.
Vincent turned his attention to his weeping fiancée.
He walked over and stood towering above her.
“Isabella, look at me,” Vincent commanded softly.
She slowly looked up, her mascara running down her perfectly contoured cheeks.
“Did you know Charles was planning to steal my assets?” Vincent asked.
“I swear on my life, Vince, I knew absolutely nothing about his plans,” Isabella cried.
She reached out to grab his hand, but he pulled away instantly.
His eyes locked onto the silver pendant resting against her throat.
The two silver leaves curled around a blue stone.
“Where did you get that necklace?” Vincent demanded, his voice dropping an octave.
Isabella touched the pendant nervously.
“Charles gave it to me as a welcoming gift when I first met you,” she explained.
Vincent felt a cold, terrifying dread wash completely over him.
He remembered that exact necklace.
He had bought it for Sofia on their fifth anniversary in Paris.
Grace returned to the ballroom, holding a tangled white charging cord.
“I found one, sir,” Grace announced nervously.
Vincent plugged the phone into the wall outlet and waited agonized minutes for the battery icon to appear.
The cracked screen finally flickered to life.
Vincent pressed play on the voicemail once again.
The static cleared, and Sofia’s voice filled the silent room.
May you like
“Vince, if Bellamy is in the room, don’t say another word,” Sofia warned through the speaker.
“He is working with the Romanos, and Isabella is not who she claims to be.”
