Chapter 18 - The Standoff in the Vault
Sub-level three was constructed of two-foot-thick reinforced steel and concrete. As Vincent stepped off the service stairs, the heavy blast doors of the vault stood half-open, sparks flying from severed hydraulic cables.
Inside the vault, illuminated by amber emergency lights, stood Angelo. The elderly Consigliere was dressed in an immaculate cashmere coat, his hands resting calmly atop an ivory-handled cane. Behind him stood three mercenaries loading titanium cases of bearer bonds and cryptocurrency hard drives onto an automated cart.
Sitting on a steel crate, clutching her velvet bear, was Ruby.
She wasn't crying. Her small face was pale, but her eyes were fixed on the doorway. When Vincent's silhouette appeared in the dim amber light, Ruby's lips parted.
"Papa!" she cried out.
Immediately, a mercenary leveled a submachine gun directly at Ruby’s temple.
"Don't move, Vincent," Angelo spoke, his voice calm, polite, and horrifyingly grandfatherly. "One step closer, and my friend here paints the wall with the precious Falcone bloodline."
Vincent stopped dead in his tracks. He lowered the barrel of his rifle toward the floor, though his finger remained hovering over the trigger. His eyes were locked on Angelo with pure, unfiltered venom.
"Angelo," Vincent said, his voice dropping into a register that rattled the steel beams above. "You carried me on your shoulders when I was seven years old. You helped me bury my father."
"And that is precisely why I know you are unfit to lead this family anymore, Vincent," Angelo sighed, adjusting his glasses. "You are ruled by emotion. You let a woman—Caterina—distract you. And now, you crown a five-year-old girl and place the entire syndicate at risk. The other Five Families were laughing at us today! An empire of this magnitude cannot be left to a child and a broken-hearted widower."
"Where is Caterina?" Vincent demanded, ignoring the insults, his eyes burning into the old man’s soul. "Tell me before I tear your lungs from your chest."
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Angelo let out a dry, chilling chuckle. "You still don't understand, do you? Caterina never died in an accident. She begged me to help her escape you."
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