Chapter 6 - The Ultimate Sacrifice
Mara screamed and lunged toward the video monitor, pressing her hands against the cold glass screen.
Her mother was weeping in terror, a brutal bruise already forming on her fragile cheek.
"How did he find her in Wisconsin?" Mara sobbed frantically, turning to Dominic for answers.
Dominic's face hardened into a mask of pure, lethal rage.
Volkov smiled into the security camera, his cruel eyes mocking their helpless situation.
"I know you can hear me, Castellano," Volkov's thick accent crackled over the intercom.
"Open the vault and surrender your territory, or I will execute the baker's mother on live television."
Dominic grabbed the intercom microphone, his knuckles turning completely white.
"If you touch one hair on her head, I will butcher your entire family," Dominic promised ruthlessly.
Volkov simply laughed, pressing the barrel of his gun harder against the weeping woman's temple.
"You have exactly ten minutes to open the door, Dominic, or she dies," Volkov warned before cutting the audio.
Mara collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor in a puddle of utter despair.
"We cannot let him kill her, Dominic, you have to open the door," Mara begged through her tears.
Dominic knelt beside her, grabbing her shoulders firmly but gently.
"If I open that door, he kills all three of us instantly," Dominic explained logically.
He promised he was waiting for his loyal lieutenants to arrive with heavy reinforcements.
But Mara knew that ten minutes would never be enough time for an army to mobilize.
She looked at the heavy titanium door, formulating a desperate, suicidal plan in her mind.
She hugged Dominic tightly, pressing a soft, tearful kiss against his neck.
"I trust you, Dominic," she whispered softly into his ear.
While he was distracted by her embrace, she reached down and slipped the heavy pistol from his holster.
Before Dominic could react, Mara spun around and slammed her hand against the manual override button.
The massive titanium door hissed and began to slowly grind open.
"Mara, no!" Dominic roared, lunging forward to stop the mechanism.
Mara slipped through the small opening and pointed the gun directly at Dominic's chest.
"I love you, but I will not let my mother die for your empire," she cried.
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She hit the exterior lock button, sealing the bleeding mafia boss safely back inside the vault.
Mara slowly raised her hands and walked down the grand staircase to surrender to the Russian cartel.
