Chapter 5 - The Confrontation at the Gate
The afternoon wind whipped across the gravel driveway as Vincent and I stepped out through the front security checkpoint.
Standing behind the heavy iron gates was Tyler, flanked by his bewildered-looking fiancée, Vanessa, who was recording the entire encounter on her smartphone. Tyler looked frantic, his hair disheveled, his designer jacket half-buttoned as he shook the metal bars of the gate.
"Open this gate right now!" Tyler shouted, pointing wildly toward us as we approached. "I know you're in there, Emily! You kidnapped by a criminal! I’m calling federal authorities!"
Vincent stopped a few feet from the gate, his hands resting calmly in his pockets. He looked at Tyler the way a biologist might look at an irritating insect buzzing against a windowpane.
"Mr. Dawson," Vincent said, his voice carrying effortlessly over the wind. "You are trespassing on private property."
Tyler sneered, stepping closer to the bars. "Save it, DeLuca! You think you can snatch an innocent woman off the street and hide her in your little fortress? The whole city is talking about this! I’m exposing you!"
Vanessa stepped forward, thrusting her phone camera closer to the bars. "That's right! We're live-streaming this to fifty thousand followers! Let her go, or face the consequences!"
I stepped out from behind Vincent’s shoulder, looking directly through the iron bars at my ex-boyfriend and the woman who had laughed while he humiliated me.
"I wasn't kidnapped, Tyler," I said, my voice steady and clear. "I walked into that car of my own free will. And for the first time in three years, I am exactly where I want to be."
Tyler’s face flushed a furious, blotchy red. "You're brainwashed! You're nothing! You're a fat, ordinary waitress who got lucky for five minutes!"
Before Tyler could say another word, the sound of multiple heavy engine roars echoed down the private drive.
Three black SUVs swept around the curve of the road, slamming to a halt behind Tyler’s sports car, blocking him in completely. The doors flew open, and six armed men in tactical gear stepped out, surrounding Tyler and Vanessa before they even realized what was happening.
From the lead vehicle stepped a man with sharp, scarred features and cold, calculating eyes.
Viktor Vance.
Tyler spun around, his voice cracking with panic. "Hey! What is this? We're just trying to—"
Viktor didn't look at Tyler. He didn't even acknowledge Vanessa’s screaming phone. His cold, dead eyes locked onto the iron gates, fixing directly on Vincent and me standing side by side.
"Well, well," Viktor drawled, his voice a smooth, venomous hiss as he walked slowly toward the front gate. "The great Vincent DeLuca playing knight in shining armor for a kitchen worker. I must admit, I didn't think you had such domestic ambitions."
Vincent didn't blink. He stepped slightly in front of me, his posture stiffening into absolute, lethal readiness. "Viktor. You're a long way from your territory."
"I wanted to see her for myself," Viktor smiled, his gaze shifting past Vincent to lock onto me. "The woman who brought down the city's most untouchable syndicate boss with a spilled drink and a viral video. Tell me, my dear... does he treat you better than he treats his enemies?"
"Leave her out of this, Viktor," Vincent warned, his voice dropping into a deadly, freezing register that made even the armed guards flinch. "This is between you and me."
"Is it?" Viktor laughed softly, pulling a small silver cigarette case from his pocket. "Because from where I'm standing, she is the very center of the board. And in chess, when the queen is exposed, the game is already over."
Without breaking eye contact, Viktor snapped his fingers. Two of his men grabbed Tyler by the arms, dragging the screaming, flailing ex-boyfriend forward onto his knees right against the outside of the iron gate.
"Please!" Tyler shrieked, tears streaming down his face as a cold steel pistol barrel was pressed gently against the back of his neck. "I don't even know these people! I'm just here to expose them! Let me go!"
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Vanessa dropped her phone, screaming in horror as she backed away toward the SUVs.
Viktor smiled coldly, looking directly at me. "Shall we test how much the great Vincent DeLuca truly cares about his new pet, or will you hand over the eastern shipping routes right now?"
