Chapter 28 - A Desperate Strike
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We watched Vivian and her hired muscle retreat to their black SUV. The taillights disappeared down the long, winding driveway, and I finally let out a breath I felt like I had been holding for two days.
“Is it over?” I asked, leaning against Luca’s shoulder.
“For now,” he replied, wrapping an arm securely around my waist. “But we need to increase security at Eleanor House. She’s desperate. I don't want her trying to sabotage the construction site out of pure spite.”
We went upstairs, checking on Grace, finding solace in her peaceful, rhythmic breathing. I truly believed we had neutralized the threat.
I was horribly wrong.
The next morning, I drove out to Eleanor House. The affordable medical housing project was my passion, a beacon of hope built on the ashes of the old syndicate. The framing for the final floor was almost complete, the construction site buzzing with activity.
I was walking through the ground floor lobby with the site manager, discussing the installation of the pediatric clinic, when a massive, deafening explosion rocked the entire building.
The concrete floor violently shuddered beneath my feet. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling as emergency alarms began to wail incessantly.
“Get down!” the site manager yelled, tackling me to the floor just as a secondary blast echoed from the underground parking garage.
Panic erupted. Construction workers were shouting, running toward the emergency exits. Thick, acrid black smoke began billowing up from the stairwells, choking the air.
I scrambled to my feet, coughing violently, my ears ringing from the concussive force of the blast.
“Is everyone out?!” I screamed over the blaring alarms, grabbing the manager’s arm.
“I don't know! We have to evacuate!” he shouted back, pulling me toward the main doors.
We stumbled out into the bright sunlight, gasping for clean air. Sirens were already wailing in the distance, growing louder by the second. I looked back at the building. The entire east wing of the parking structure had collapsed, black smoke pouring ominously from the crater.
My phone vibrated aggressively in my pocket.
I pulled it out with shaking, dust-covered hands. The caller ID was blocked.
May you like
I answered it, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
“I told you, Emma,” Vivian’s cold, ruthless voice whispered through the speaker. “I am not walking away empty-handed. If I don't get my money, nobody gets anything.”
