Chapter 5 - The Glass of Poison
The silence in the master bedroom was suffocating, broken only by Vincent’s
ragged, whimpering breaths and the distant rumble of thunder.
Isabella stared at Lorenzo as if looking at a ghost risen from the grave. Her
gaze shifted to Beatrice standing beside him, holding a gun, and pure, venomous
confusion contorted her features.
"L-Lorenzo..." Isabella stammered, her hands trembling as she tried to smooth
her silk robe. "Darling! Thank God you're safe! Intruders broke into the
house—Vincent was trying to protect me—"
"Save your breath, Isabella," Lorenzo said, not taking his eyes off Vincent. "I
was in the walls behind my study four hours ago."
Isabella’s breath caught in her throat. The color drained from her face
completely.
"You..." she choked out. "You heard..."
"Every word," Lorenzo said. He walked slowly across the room, kicking Vincent’s
dropped firearm under the bed. He stopped in front of his kneeling underboss,
looking down at him with the cold detachment of a judge delivering an execution
order. "Digitalis in my morning espresso. The Rossi family takes the blame. You
take the commission. And Isabella takes the shipping empire."
Vincent looked up, his teeth gritted in agony, sweat pouring down his face.
"Lorenzo... listen to me... it was Senator Sterling's idea! Isabella's father
set the whole thing up! He promised me political immunity if we took you off the
board!"
"You took an oath to this family, Vincent," Lorenzo said softly. "You took a
bullet for me five years ago. I gave you twenty percent of every port in South
Florida. I made you a king."
"I was always your shadow!" Vincent spat, hatred breaking through his terror.
"You were always the great Lorenzo Falcone! And what was I? Your errand boy! I
built half those routes! I deserved the crown!"
"You couldn't carry the weight of this crown for twenty-four hours," Lorenzo
replied.
He turned toward Isabella.
She fell to her knees on the bed, crawling toward him with desperate, pleading
eyes. "Lorenzo, please! Vinnie forced me! He threatened my father! He said he
would kill me if I didn't help him! You know I love you! Look at me, Lorenzo—I'm
your fiancée!"
Lorenzo looked down at her with unvarnished disgust.
"You called Beatrice a fat cow," Lorenzo said.
Isabella blinked, utterly derailed by the statement. "What?"
"You said she was too stupid and too slow to notice anything," Lorenzo
continued, his voice hardening like steel. "You told Vincent to throw her off
the Brickell Bridge because nobody would miss a maid."
Isabella glanced frantically at Beatrice, who stood near the doorway, her head
held high, watching her former tormentor grovel on the floor.
"Lorenzo, she's just staff!" Isabella wailed. "You're throwing away our future,
our alliance with my father, for a servant?!"
"Beatrice has more loyalty, more honor, and more beauty in her little finger
than you have in your entire bloodline," Lorenzo stated coldly.
At that moment, the bedroom door swung open. Marco entered, flanked by four
heavily armed cleaners.
"House is clear, boss," Marco reported. "All twelve Rossi mercenaries
neutralized. We've secured the perimeter."
"Good," Lorenzo said. "Tie Vincent to the chair in my study. Bring Isabella down
as well."
Marco’s men moved efficiently, dragging Vincent and a screaming Isabella out of
the room.
Lorenzo turned back to Beatrice.
She lowered the pistol, her chest heaving as the adrenaline slowly began to
recede.
"Are you all right?" Lorenzo asked, stepping over to her.
"I... I think so," Beatrice whispered. She looked down at the weapon in her hand
and offered it back to him. "Thank you, Mr. Falcone."
Lorenzo didn't take the gun. Instead, he reached out and gently covered her
hands with his own.
"My name is Lorenzo, Beatrice," he said softly. "To you, it will always be
Lorenzo."
May you like
Her breath hitched. Before she could answer, Marco’s voice crackled frantically
through Lorenzo’s earpiece.
"Boss! We have a convoy of federal task force cruisers and SWAT units
approaching the main gate at full speed! Senator Sterling is in the lead car!"
