Chapter 9 - THE MAFIA BOSS'S WRATH
When Norah opened her eyes, her head throbbed violently with a blinding migraine.
She was tied securely to a heavy wooden chair in the middle of a vast, damp, cold concrete basement. Dim overhead bulbs flickered rhythmically, casting long, eerie shadows across the damp walls. The metallic smell of rust, mold, and old blood hung thick in the cold air.
"Ah, the sleeping beauty finally awakes," a smooth, oily voice echoed from the darkness.
Victor Vance stepped out of the shadows, wearing a expensive gray suit, a cruel, triumphant smile stretching across his face. Two large, heavily armed thugs stood right behind him.
Norah pulled against her thick rope restraints, her heart hammering wildly in her chest, but she refused to let him see her cry. She lifted her chin high, staring back at him with absolute defiance.
"Dominic will kill you for this," she said, her voice steady and icy cold.
Vance laughed hysterically, walking around her chair like a vulture circling prey. "Dominic Gallow is currently watching his empire crumble. By taking you, I took his only weakness. He is reckless now. Blind with rage. And a blind predator is very easy to kill."
He stopped right in front of her, leaning down until his ugly face was inches from hers. "You were supposed to be just a simple auditor, little girl. But you turned out to be quite the secret weapon, didn't you? Discarding Frank, exposing Marco, securing my servers... You made a big mistake crossing me."
He reached out, his hand moving to touch her face, but Norah snapped her head sideways and bit his hand hard!
"AH! You little bitch!" Vance screamed, pulling his hand back, blood dripping from his thumb. He raised his hand, backhanding her across the face with tremendous force!
The impact sent a sharp pain exploding across Norah’s cheek, the force knocking her chair slightly sideways. The taste of copper filled her mouth as blood trickled down her lower lip.
"You're going to pay for that," Vance growled, pulling a silver pistol from his suit jacket and pointing it directly at her head. "I was going to use you as leverage to make Dominic surrender his territory. But now, I think I'll just shoot you, send him your head in a box, and watch him lose his mind completely."
Norah stared down the barrel of the gun. Death was staring her in the face once more. But she felt no fear, no desire to beg. She looked Victor Vance straight in the eyes and spat a mouthful of blood onto his expensive leather shoes.
"Do it," she whispered coldly. "Because if you don't, Dominic will make you suffer for every single thing you've ever done."
Vance’s face twisted in pure rage. "Goodbye, little auditor—"
BOOM!
A deafening, explosive blast ripped through the heavy steel double doors at the top of the basement stairs! The entire concrete room shook violently as dust, debris, and shrapnel rained down from the ceiling.
Before the smoke could clear, gunfire erupted with absolute, terrifying ferocity. Vance’s two thugs were dropped instantly, their bodies collapsing lifelessly onto the cold concrete floor before they could even raise their weapons.
Through the heavy black smoke, a towering figure stepped into the basement.
It was Dominic Gallow.
He was covered in dirt, glass, and blood—none of it his own. His eyes were not human; they were glowing with an ancient, demonic, unstoppable wrath. He held a high-powered shotgun in one hand and a combat knife in the other, moving like an unstoppable god of death.
"Vance," Dominic’s voice echoed through the basement, low, terrifying, and vibrating with absolute promises of violence.
Vance panicked, grabbing Norah from behind and pulling her body in front of him as a shield, pressing his pistol tightly against her temple. "STAY BACK, GALLOW!" Vance shrieked, his voice trembling with sheer terror. "One step closer and I blow her brains out!"
Dominic didn't stop walking. He didn't flinch. He walked slowly, deliberately, stopping ten feet away from them. His dark eyes locked onto Norah’s pale face, taking in the bruised cheek and the blood on her lip.
An aura of pure, unadulterated evil radiated from Dominic.
"You touched her," Dominic whispered softly, his voice so quiet it sent shivers of sheer terror straight down Vance’s spine. "You laid your filthy hand on my wife."
"She's not your wife, she's a piece of trash!" Vance screamed, his hand shaking violently against Norah’s head. "I will kill her!"
"You can try," Dominic said coldly.
In a fraction of a second, before Vance could pull the trigger, Dominic drew a concealed throwing knife from his chest vest and threw it with terrifying precision!
THE KNIFE EMBEDDED ITSELF DEEP INTO VANCE’S WRIST!
Vance screamed in agony, dropping the pistol onto the floor as he clutched his bleeding arm!
Norah instantly threw her body forward, tipping her chair over onto the floor to clear Dominic’s line of sight!
Dominic closed the distance in a heart-beat. He grabbed Vance by the throat with one hand, lifting the heavy older man entirely off his feet and slamming him violently against the concrete wall!
"Please... Dominic... wait—" Vance begged wetly, choking for air.
"I told you," Dominic growled, his face inches from Vance’s terrified eyes. "Nothing takes what is mine."
With a swift, brutal motion, Dominic drove his combat knife deep into Vance’s heart, ending the mafia war once and for all.
Dominic let the corpse slump uselessly to the floor. He dropped his bloody weapon, turned around instantly, and fell to his knees beside Norah’s fallen chair.
His massive hands were trembling violently as he quickly cut her ropes with his pocket knife, freeing her arms and legs.
"Norah... oh god, Norah," Dominic breathed, his voice breaking with raw, overwhelming emotion. He pulled her up into his lap, wrapping his massive arms tightly around her, holding her against his chest as if he would never let her go again.
Norah buried her face into his neck, tears finally spilling down her bruised cheeks, her small hands clutching his blood-soaked shirt tightly.
"You came for me," she sobbed softly. "You found me."
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"I will always find you," Dominic whispered fiercely, pressing desperate, soft kisses all over her hair, her forehead, and her bruised cheek. "I promised you, little bird. I will burn the entire world to keep you safe."
He lifted her easily into his arms, carrying his precious treasure out of the dark, blood-soaked basement and back into the light of day.
