Chapter 8 - The Manager
Greg stood perfectly still in the pouring rain, looking entirely comfortable holding a military-grade weapon.
“You’re late, Luca,” Greg said, wiping water from his eyes with a casual flick of his wrist.
I stood frozen in the mud, clutching Leo tightly to my chest as my brain struggled to process the impossible betrayal.
“You did this?” I asked, my voice cracking as I stared at the man who used to yell at me about table settings.
“You were the easiest bait in the world, Avery,” Greg laughed coldly, not even bothering to look at me.
“The Romano family has been looking for a way to break Luca for months, and then you magically applied for a waitress job.”
Greg explained how he realized I was a perfect body double for Luca's dead wife and intentionally placed me in his path.
“The hit tonight was supposed to kill the girl and leave the baby completely unprotected,” Greg stated calmly.
Luca let go of my shoulder, standing up straight despite the immense pain ripping through his bleeding side.
“You are a dead man, Gregory,” Luca promised, his voice carrying a demonic certainty that made the air feel colder.
“Maybe next week, but tonight, I am the one walking away with a massive paycheck,” Greg smiled, raising the rifle to his shoulder.
He aimed the deadly weapon squarely at Luca's chest, his finger slowly wrapping around the trigger.
I refused to stand there and watch the man I was falling for die in the mud.
I quickly passed the crying baby to the terrified housekeeper and launched myself forward without a single thought.
I grabbed the heavy tactical knife strapped to Luca’s belt and lunged directly at my former boss.
Greg's eyes went wide with shock as he tried to redirect the long barrel of the rifle toward me.
I drove the knife deep into his shoulder, screaming with all the pent-up rage and terror of the entire night.
Greg roared in immense pain, but his finger still violently squeezed the trigger as he fell backward.
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The deafening crack of the gunshot echoed through the forest, stopping the entire world from spinning.
I fell into the muddy grass, gasping for air as a burning, unimaginable pain exploded inside my chest.
