Chapter 5
Bernadette stared at the wreckage of the model-railway exhibit, her breath catching in her throat. Her husband was bleeding and unconscious amidst the scattered miniature trains. The illusion of their impending coup, the arrogance that had allowed her to strike a child, evaporated entirely in the face of Luciano’s overwhelming, brutal power.
But as Luciano turned his terrifying gaze toward her, a blind, irrational panic seized her mind. Desperate to assert some twisted semblance of control, Bernadette’s eyes darted away from her husband and locked onto the small wooden locomotive still resting in Luciano’s hand.
"Give it to me!" Bernadette shrieked, entirely losing her mind.
She lunged forward, her luxurious formal dress tearing at the seams as she bypassed Luciano entirely. Her manicured hands hooked like claws, she aimed directly for Theo, attempting to snatch the wooden locomotive back from the child to give to her own son.
Luciano moved with absolute, lethal precision.
He stepped backward, smoothly moving Theo safely behind him, creating an impenetrable wall of dark fabric and muscle. As Bernadette closed the distance, Luciano simply reached out and caught her wrist in mid-air. His grip was an iron vise, stopping her momentum instantly and painfully.
"Let me go!" Bernadette screamed, thrashing wildly against his grip.
Luciano did not let go. He stared into her terrified, flushed face for a fraction of a second before he drew his right hand back.
He delivered one thunderous, open-handed slap across Bernadette’s face.
The sound cracked through the gallery like a rifle shot. The force of the strike spun her violently backward, her high heels losing complete contact with the carpet.
Bernadette flew backward and crashed brutally into the freestanding wooden timetable board positioned near the edge of the exhibit.
The heavy, vintage display board tipped violently under the sudden impact. It crashed backward into a massive stack of authentic, vintage canvas mail sacks. Metal route plaques tore loose from the wood, clattering loudly against the floor. Dozens of wooden destination cards scattered chaotically across the marble, spinning like coins. The heavy canvas mail sacks collapsed around Bernadette, burying her as she dropped heavily beneath the fallen display.
May you like
She hit the floor groaning, her expensive formal dress covered in dust, her diamond jewelry tangled in the heavy canvas. The red mark of Luciano’s hand was already blooming across her fair, rosy cheek.
There was no dialogue. The bodyguards standing along the perimeter of the room rested their hands on their concealed weapons, their faces expressionless, waiting for their Boss to give the final order.
