Chapter 6 - THE EDGE OF THE ROOF
The wind howled across the rooftops, whipping my wet hair into my eyes.
Marcus held me tight, the barrel of his gun pressing into my ribs. Leo clung to my leg, weeping silently.
"Your inheritance," Luca repeated, standing tall in the rain, completely unarmed. "You murdered my brother for money, Marcus. You orphaned this child for a bank account."
"It's never just about the money, Luca," Marcus laughed bitterly. "It's about respect. Dante was weak. You are weak. You want to legitimize the family, turn us into businessmen. I want us to be kings."
Answer One: Marcus’s betrayal was ideological as well as financial. He despised Luca's attempts to reform the syndicate.
Marcus pulled a folded, rain-soaked document from his jacket pocket. He threw it onto the gravel between them.
"Sign the transfer," Marcus ordered. "Hand over the syndicate, the offshore accounts, and the properties. Do it, and I let the maid and the bastard child walk."
Open Two: Would Luca surrender an empire he had bled for to save a woman he had known for seven months?
Luca looked down at the document. He didn't hesitate. He reached into his coat, pulled out a silver pen, and knelt on the wet gravel.
He was going to do it. He was going to give up everything.
The reversal in my own heart was profound. This ruthless mafia boss was throwing away his crown for a maid and a terrified child.
"Don't do it, Luca," I whispered.
Marcus jerked his gun hard into my side. "Shut up."
As Luca uncapped the pen, I felt a familiar, comforting weight in my right apron pocket.
My sewing scissors. Heavy, sharp, forged steel. I always carried them. My mother had told me to always have the right tool to fix a problem.
Right now, Marcus was the problem.
Luca signed the first page. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine. He gave a microscopic nod. He saw my hand slipping into my pocket.
"Bring the papers to me," Marcus demanded.
Luca stood up slowly. He walked toward us, holding the damp documents.
"Here is your empire, Marcus," Luca said softly.
As Marcus reached out with his free hand to take the papers, he shifted his weight, loosening his grip on me for a fraction of a second.
I didn't think. I reacted.
I pulled the heavy sewing scissors from my pocket and drove the sharp steel blades directly into Marcus's thigh.
Marcus shrieked, a high, panicked sound. His leg buckled, and his grip on me broke.
I threw myself backward, pulling Leo down to the ground with me.
In that same split second, Luca didn't go for the dropped gun. He closed the distance like a predator, driving his shoulder into Marcus's chest.
The two men crashed onto the gravel, grappling for the weapon. Marcus was thrashing, blood pouring from his leg. He managed to aim the gun upward.
A shot rang out.
Luca grunted, stumbling backward.
Marcus scrambled to his feet, raising the gun to finish his cousin.
"No!" I screamed.
But before Marcus could pull the trigger, the metal door to the stairwell burst open again.
A figure ran out onto the roof, screaming with a ferocity that echoed over the storm.
It was Vanessa.
She hadn't stayed at the mansion. She had followed us.
She threw herself between Marcus and Luca just as Marcus fired.
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The bullet struck Vanessa in the chest. She gasped, her beautiful, ruined wedding dress blooming with a terrifying crimson stain, and she collapsed onto the wet gravel.
TITLE: The Crimson Wedding Dress
