Chapter 6 - THE TRAIN TICKET
“My daughter?” Vincent repeated, the words hitting him harder than the blade had.
He looked at Adeline, who was clutching her alligator, her wide eyes reflecting the emergency red lights.
Then he looked at Camille.
“You said she was Dominic’s child.”
Camille shook her head, tears finally spilling over.
“Dominic couldn’t have children, Vincent. He was sterile. He found out two months before he died. That’s why he wanted to kill me. Because he knew the truth.”
Vincent gripped the edge of the metal tray, his knuckles turning white.
“The night of the gala,” Vincent breathed, the memory rushing back.
Three years ago. A masquerade in Chicago. He had spent the night with a beautiful woman in a silver mask. They had talked for hours, shared a brief, intense connection, and then she had vanished before sunrise.
He had never known her name.
“I was there doing Dominic’s books,” Camille confessed. “I wanted to see the man who was so different from the monster I worked for. I just wanted one night away from the nightmare.”
Vincent stared at her, the pieces finally falling into place.
Adeline wasn’t his niece.
She was his daughter.
Another violent explosion shook the floorboards above them, bringing down a shower of plaster dust.
“Boss, we have to move,” Marcus barked, pulling his weapon. “The Morettis are here to finish the job. If they get the ledger, they destroy your legitimate businesses. If they get you, they take the territory.”
“And if they get Addie?” Vincent asked, his voice turning deadly cold.
“They use her as leverage forever,” Camille said. “That’s why they left the train ticket. They’re telling me to leave her and run back to Chicago. They want her.”
Vincent Castellano stood up straight.
The pain in his side vanished, replaced by a pure, terrifying rage.
He was no longer a bleeding man on a gurney. He was the head of the Castellano family, and his child was in danger.
“Marcus,” Vincent ordered, “open the armory. Give Camille a weapon.”
“Boss, she’s a maid,” Marcus protested.
“She killed my brother and saved the ledger,” Vincent corrected. “Give her a gun.”
Marcus handed Camille a sleek 9mm Glock. She checked the magazine and racked the slide with expert precision.
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Accountants learn things in Chicago,” Camille muttered.
“Here is the play,” Vincent said, his mind working brilliantly. “They think I’m dying. They think Marcus is the traitor because they framed his signature in the ledger. They expect us to be hiding down here, waiting for the end.”
He walked over to a heavy metal panel on the wall and punched in a six-digit code.
The wall slid open, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel.
“The panic room?” Marcus asked.
“No. The exhaust vents. It leads to the roof.”
Vincent turned to Camille.
“Take Addie. Follow this tunnel to the roof access. There is a helicopter pad up there. The pilot is on standby 24/7.”
Camille gripped the gun tightly. “I am not leaving you down here to die.”
“You are keeping my daughter safe,” Vincent commanded gently. “Do this, Camille.”
Camille hesitated, then nodded. She scooped Adeline into her arms.
“Come on, baby. We’re going on a ride.”
“Helicopter?” Adeline asked, her eyes going wide.
“Yes.”
Before she stepped into the tunnel, Camille turned back.
She reached out and placed the gold rosary in Vincent’s hand.
“Bring this back to us,” she said fiercely.
Vincent watched the wall slide shut, sealing them safely inside.
He turned back to Marcus, the gold rosary wrapped around his bleeding knuckles.
“Alright, Marcus,” Vincent smiled, a dark, terrifying expression. “Let’s go welcome our guests.”
They stepped out of the medical suite just as the heavy wooden doors at the end of the hall splintered inward.
Four men in tactical gear poured into the corridor, raising their rifles.
But they stopped dead.
Standing in the center of the hallway, holding a child’s drawing, was a man in a crisp gray suit.
May you like
It was the estate manager, Thomas.
“Drop your weapons,” Thomas ordered the hitmen. “Castellano is dead. The house is ours.”
