Chapter 7 - The Desperate StrikeDefeated and humiliated in front of his entire underground network, Salvatore Vance was forced to sign over Nathan's forty percent equity stake in Hudson Yards to my private holding firm on the spot.
As Dominic and I walked back toward our Maybach through the dark, tree-lined driveway of the estate, a pair of bright headlights suddenly ignited in the shadows behind us.
The engine roared. A heavy black SUV accelerated violently toward us down the narrow driveway.
"Clara! Down!" Dominic roared.
Before I could react, Dominic wrapped his arms around my waist and threw both of us off the paved road into the thick manicured hedge lining the driveway.
The SUV slammed directly into the side of our parked Maybach with a deafening metallic screech of twisting iron and shattering glass.
Marco and three security operatives immediately drew their weapons, surrounding the crashed vehicle. The driver’s side door was kicked open.
Nathan Wexler stumbled out of the wreckage, holding a small silver pistol with trembling, hysterical hands. His clothes were torn, his hair wild, his eyes completely bloodshot with unhinged madness. He had been released on emergency bail hours earlier, funded secretly by Salvatore.
"DOMINIC!" Nathan shrieked, aiming the weapon wildly toward the bushes where we lay. "YOU TOOK MY COMPANY! YOU TOOK MY LIFE! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"
Dominic pulled me behind his broad frame, stepping out from the hedges into the clear moonlight. His face was entirely devoid of fear—only pure, absolute, lethal authority remained.
"Put the gun down, Nathan," Dominic said softly, stepping forward slowly. "You are out of your depth."
"DON'T MOVE!" Nathan screamed, his finger twitching nervously against the trigger. "Clara! Look at what you made me do! If you had just stayed quiet, we would be married right now! You ruined everything!"
I stepped out from behind Dominic, standing shoulder to shoulder with him under the moonlight.
"You ruined yourself, Nathan," I said, my voice steady as steel. "Shoot if you're going to shoot. But know that my father’s trust has already bought your remaining debt. Even if I die tonight, you spend the rest of your life in a federal cage."
Nathan stared at me, his hand shaking violently as the weight of his total failure crushed his shattered mind.
Before he could pull the trigger, Marco stepped up behind him like a ghost, delivering a single, precise blow with the butt of his pistol to the back of Nathan's neck.
Nathan collapsed onto the gravel like a sack of wet flour, dropping the gun into the dirt.
Dominic didn't even look at Nathan’s unconscious body. He turned to me instantly, his hands taking my face, his dark eyes searching every inch of my skin for injuries.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice rough with an emotion he could no longer hide. "Clara, look at me. Are you hurt?"
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"I'm fine, Dominic," I breathed, resting my hands over his trembling fingers. "I'm completely fine."
Dominic let out a long, ragged breath, resting his forehead gently against mine under the moonlight. "Good," he whispered against my lips. "Because I don't know what I would do if I lost you now."
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