Chapter 6 - THE SILENCE BEFORE THE STORMThe Vossi mansion was transformed into a fortress of white roses and glittering crystal chandeliers. Two days until the wedding. The guest list included state senators, high-ranking judges, and the most feared capos of the East Coast underworld.
In the master drawing room, Silvio Marchetti paced back and forth, swirling a glass of expensive bourbon, his tailored Italian suit fitting him like a second skin. Camille Vitale sat on the velvet sofa, nervously tapping her manicured fingernails against a silver champagne flute.
"He's been quiet," Camille said, her voice laced with unease. "Too quiet, Silvio. Dr. Cole hasn't answered his phone in thirty-six hours, and neither has his driver. Something is wrong."
"Stop panicking," Silvio snapped, though a flicker of genuine anxiety crossed his sharp features. He walked over to the window, peering out toward the heavily guarded front gates. "Cole is probably holed up in some motel counting his offshore transfer. As for Domenico, what can he possibly do? He's paralyzed from the waist down. He watches us from that wheelchair like a caged animal."
"Animals bite when they're cornered, Silvio," a cold, metallic voice echoed from the doorway.
Silvio and Camille spun around in unison.
Domenico Vossi rolled slowly into the drawing room. He wasn't wearing his usual blanket over his legs. Instead, he sat upright, wearing a crisp, tailored charcoal suit, his shoulders broad and steady. But it wasn't the suit that made the blood freeze in Silvio's veins.
It was Domenico's eyes. They burned with a terrifying, predator-like clarity that Silvio hadn't seen in the six months since the Brooklyn Avenue ambush.
"D-Domenico," Silvio stammered, forcing an uneasy, charming smile onto his face. "You're looking... remarkably well today. We were just discussing the seating arrangements for the reception."
"Were you?" Domenico’s voice was dangerously low. He didn't stop rolling until he was three feet away from them. He stopped the wheelchair, locked the wheels, and then—in front of both of them—did something that defied every law of medicine, science, and nature.
He planted both feet firmly on the carpet.
May you like
He stood up.
Silvio staggered backward, his glass of bourbon slipping from his fingers and shattering into a million glittering pieces on the marble floor. Camille let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream, pressing her hands against her cheeks as if staring a ghost straight in the eyes.
