Chapter 10 - The False Victory
Gunfire erupted from the main hall.
The heavy thud of boots rushed up the grand staircase.
"Dom, barricade the door!" Vincent yelled.
Dominic shoved the heavy oak dresser across the entryway.
Lauren took cover behind the reinforced concrete pillar near the balcony.
"Vincent, I need you to trust me," Lauren shouted over the noise.
"If we survive this, I can offer you immunity."
"In exchange for what?" Vincent demanded, loading a pistol from his nightstand.
"You hand over Marco and testify against the Sinaloa leadership."
Vincent looked at his paralyzed legs.
His empire was burning down around him.
"Deal," Vincent said.
The bedroom door splintered violently.
Bullets tore through the wood, shattering the mirrors and shredding the silk curtains.
Lauren returned fire with deadly precision.
Dominic grabbed his dropped pistol and fired blindly through the drywall.
Vincent lay flat on the bed, aiming calmly.
When a Cartel enforcer breached the gap, Vincent put a bullet directly between his eyes.
For ten grueling minutes, the bedroom became a warzone.
Then, the wail of police sirens flooded the night air.
Dozens of them.
"My backup is here," Lauren gasped, lowering her weapon.
The remaining Cartel members cursed in Spanish and scrambled down the balcony, fleeing into the darkness.
Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs.
FBI SWAT operators swarmed the room, securing the perimeter.
Marco was dragged in a moment later, in handcuffs, bleeding from a head wound.
He glared at Vincent with pure hatred.
"You're dead, Corvino," Marco spat as the agents hauled him away.
Dominic surrendered his weapon and was taken into federal custody.
The gunfire stopped.
The smoke began to clear.
Lauren holstered her gun and walked over to Vincent's bed.
"You held up your end," she said, breathing heavily.
"I'll have the immunity paperwork drafted by tomorrow."
"You're a free man, Vincent."
Vincent let out a long, shaky breath, leaning back against the pillows.
The nightmare was finally over.
He had survived the coup, eliminated his enemies, and secured his freedom.
Lauren nodded respectfully and walked out of the room to coordinate the crime scene.
The mansion grew eerily quiet.
A minute later, the bedroom door quietly closed.
The lock clicked shut.
Tessa stepped out from the shadows of the adjoining bathroom.
She looked perfectly calm.
"You survived," she whispered.
She walked slowly toward the bed.
Vincent smiled in relief.
"Tessa."
"You made it."
"I am not here to care for you, Vincent," she said.
She pulled a glass medical syringe from her pocket and tapped it with her fingernail.
Her eyes were cold, dead, and utterly devoid of mercy.
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"My real last name is Romano."
"And you killed my father."
