Chapter 9 - The Fall of the Traitors
A massive explosion ripped through the western wing of the grand estate.
The shockwave forcefully knocked Tessa to the floor and sent thick clouds of plaster dust into the air.
Flames instantly erupted in the hallway, greedily climbing the expensive velvet curtains.
Arya laughed maniacally as the beautiful mansion she desperately coveted began to burn around her.
"Burn in hell, Vincent!" she screamed, stumbling backward toward the only safe exit.
Before she could escape, the grand library doors were violently kicked open.
Don Salieri and a dozen heavily armed loyalists stormed into the burning room.
They instantly recognized the immediate threats and moved with brutal, military efficiency.
Two men tackled Arya to the ground, easily wrestling the detonator from her manicured hands.
Three more men grabbed Dominic by his expensive suit and dragged him aggressively toward the door.
"Get the Boss out of here right now!" Don Salieri roared over the deafening crackle of the fire.
Tessa rushed to Vincent's wheelchair, grabbing the heavy handles to push him to safety.
Thick black smoke was rapidly filling the room, making it incredibly difficult to breathe or see.
"Wait," Vincent commanded suddenly, pointing toward the heavy wall safe behind his desk.
"My private ledger is inside that safe, and it cannot burn."
Tessa did not hesitate, abandoning the chair to sprint through the growing flames.
She quickly punched in the security code he shouted to her and ripped the heavy metal door open.
She grabbed the leather-bound book just as a burning wooden beam collapsed from the ceiling above.
The heavy beam crashed down, entirely blocking her path back to Vincent's wheelchair.
Tessa coughed violently, trapped against the wall by a literal wall of scorching fire.
"Tessa!" Vincent roared, absolute terror finally breaking his composed, stoic facade.
He threw his pistol aside and gripped the wheels of his chair with his massive, powerful hands.
He ignored the blistering heat and drove his wheelchair directly through the burning debris.
His heavy chair crushed the flaming wood, creating a narrow but clear path for her to escape.
He reached out his strong arm, and she grabbed his hand with a desperate, terrified grip.
Vincent pulled her safely onto his lap just as the rest of the ceiling began to collapse.
The loyalist guards rushed forward, dragging the wheelchair backward out of the inferno.
They burst through the front doors of the mansion and into the cool, refreshing night air.
Vincent held Tessa tightly against his chest as they watched the Corvino estate burn to the ground.
The empire of the past was dead, but they had both miraculously survived the fire.
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As the fire trucks finally arrived, Vincent looked down at the brave woman resting in his arms.
He noticed a dark silhouette watching them intently from the shadows of the distant tree line.
