Chapter 10 - The Ambush in the Rain
Not everyone accepted defeat gracefully.
On Friday evening, two days before the planned Sunday feast, I stayed late at the estate office helping finalize the restitution paperwork for the retired workers.
Every single victim of Celeste’s scam was scheduled to receive their stolen money back, along with an additional ten thousand dollars in compensation from the liquidated Marchesi assets.
It was almost ten at night when I drove my small sedan down the winding driveway of the estate.
The rain was falling lightly, mist rising from the asphalt.
As I turned onto the quiet two-lane country road leading toward the highway, headlights suddenly flared in my rearview mirror.
A black pickup truck accelerated rapidly behind me, its high beams blinding my mirrors.
Before I could react, the truck slammed into the rear bumper of my car.
The impact sent my sedan skidding across the wet road, spinning out of control until the passenger side crashed into a wooden fence by the tree line.
My head snapped back against the headrest.
My vision blurred.
Steam hissed from the crumpled radiator.
I tried to unbuckle my seatbelt, but the latch was jammed.
Through the rain-streaked windshield, I saw the black pickup truck stop across the road.
The driver’s door opened.
Enzo Marchesi stepped out, wearing a hooded jacket, holding a heavy iron tire iron in his hand.
His face was twisted with desperation and rage.
He marched toward my car.
“Open the damn door!” Enzo screamed, striking the driver’s side window with the tire iron.
The tempered glass spiderwebbed with white cracks.
“You ruined my life!” Enzo yelled, striking the glass again. “You and that old cleaner! My father kicked me out! We lost everything because of you!”
I kicked frantically at the door, trying to force it open from the inside, but the frame was bent.
Enzo raised the iron bar to shatter the glass completely.
Suddenly, the roar of a twin-turbo V8 engine tore through the quiet night.
A massive black armored SUV came hurtling down the road, its headlights cutting through the mist like twin blades.
Without slowing down, the SUV slammed directly into the side of Enzo’s pickup truck, pushing it thirty feet into the ditch with a deafening screech of crushing metal.
The armored SUV skidded to a halt.
The driver’s door flew open.
Vincent Romano leaped out into the pouring rain.
He didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second.
Vincent sprinted across the road, tackled Enzo to the wet grass, and pinned him to the ground before Enzo could even raise the weapon.
Vincent ripped the tire iron from Enzo’s hand and threw it deep into the dark woods.
He grabbed Enzo by the throat with one hand, hauling him up against the wrecked sedan.
“Did you touch her?” Vincent’s voice was a terrifying roar that shook the very air.
“Vincent! Vincent, wait!” Enzo choked out, gasping for breath, his eyes wide with sheer terror. “I was just trying to get the ledgers back! I didn't mean to—!”
Marco arrived seconds later, stepping out of the SUV with his weapon drawn.
Vincent slammed Enzo against the car one more time, his grip tightening until Enzo’s face turned purple.
“I warned you,” Vincent whispered, his voice deathly calm now. “I told you what would happen if you ever came near my people again.”
“Vincent, please! I’ll leave the country! I’ll go to Europe! Just don't kill me!” Enzo sobbed hysterically.
Vincent looked at Marco.
“Call the State Police,” Vincent commanded. “Attempted vehicular homicide. Reckless endangerment. Marco, hand the officers the dashcam footage from our SUV.”
“Got it, boss.”
Vincent released Enzo, letting him collapse into the mud like a pile of trash.
Vincent rushed to my side of the car.
He gripped the bent door handle with both hands.
With a roar of effort, his powerful muscles strained, and he ripped the jammed door open, tearing the metal latch clean off the frame.
He leaned in, carefully cutting my seatbelt with a pocketknife, and gently lifted me out of the wreckage into his arms.
“Are you hurt, Grace?” he asked, his voice filled with genuine concern, his dark eyes searching my face.
“I'm okay,” I breathed, trembling against his chest as the rain soaked our clothes. “Just shaken up.”
May you like
Vincent pulled his heavy wool coat off and wrapped it securely around my shivering shoulders.
“You're safe now,” he whispered, holding me close against him as the distant sirens began to wail through the night. “No one in this city will ever touch you again. I swear it.”
