Chapter 6 - THE SHATTERED CROWNThe two mercenaries standing by the bookshelf raised their assault rifles, their faces twisting with panic as they looked to Vance for an order.
"Kill him!" Vance screeched, spittle flying from his lips. "Kill him right now and burn the damn house down!"
Before the mercenaries could squeeze their triggers, the overhead lights in the study blew out with a sharp electrical pop. Total, pitch-black darkness swallowed the room.
In the next second, chaos erupted.
A deafening flashbang grenade detonated from the hallway, filling the room with blinding white light and a concussive boom that rattled the windowpanes. The mercenaries screamed, dropping their weapons as disorientation took hold.
Dominic didn't need light. He had memorized every square inch of his study years ago.
With ruthless efficiency, he closed the distance to the first mercenary, driving the palm of his hand upward into the man’s chin with enough force to snap his neck. The second mercenary swung blindly into the air, but Claire—moving with cold, practiced precision from the doorway—stepped inside and brought the butt of her suppressed pistol down hard across the man's temple. He dropped like a stone.
The white smoke cleared, revealing Victor Vance standing alone in the center of the room, trembling from head to toe, his expensive suit soaked in sweat.
Dominic stepped out of the shadows, his hands clean, his breathing steady. He walked slowly toward Vance until he was standing just inches away.
"Please," Vance choked out, falling backward into the leather armchair, his bravado entirely gone. "Please, Dominic… we can make a deal. Fifty percent of my holdings. A partnership. Just don't—"
"A partnership?" Dominic cut him off, leaning down until his eyes locked onto Vance’s terrified gaze. "You threatened a child. You used a terrified sister as leverage to turn my own fiancée into a spy. And you tried to burn down my home."
Dominic reached out, resting his heavy hand on Vance’s shoulder.
"In my world, Victor, there are no partnerships with traitors. There are only tombstones."
Dominic signaled toward the doorway. Marcus stepped into the room, flanked by two armed guards, dragging a zip-tied and bruised Jack Mercer between them.
"Take Vance and his little lapdog down to the lower vault," Dominic commanded without looking back. "Let them share a cell. Let them discuss how the mighty fall."
May you like
As the guards hauled the screaming, weeping men out of the study, the heavy oak door closed once more.
Silence settled over the room—the quiet, heavy silence of absolute power restored.
