Chapter 6 - The Freezing Eviction
""Pack your bags,"" Matteo commanded, his voice cold and final.
Evelyn gasped, clutching her throat. ""What? Tonight? On Christmas Eve? There is a blizzard outside! It's minus ten degrees! You can't throw us out into the street!""
""That is fascinating,"" Matteo replied, stepping closer until his imposing frame cast a shadow over both women. ""Thirty minutes ago, Miss Vance was sitting in an open-air bus shelter without a coat, her core temperature dropping into fatal cardiac arrest territory. You did not seem concerned with the meteorological conditions then.""
""We are women!"" Evelyn cried, tears of pure terror finally spilling down her cheeks. ""Marcus, do something! Call the police! Tell them this mafia thug broke into our house!""
Marcus swallowed hard, looking at the four men holding assault weapons with professional indifference. ""Evelyn... shut up. Just shut up.""
""Call them,"" Matteo invited smoothly, tilting his head toward the landline phone on the wall. ""Call Chief Superintendent O'Malley. Tell him Matteo Bellini is currently standing in your living room. Ask him how long it will take for a squad car to arrive in this storm. I will wait.""
Silence fell over the room, thick and suffocating. Marcus knew. Everyone knew that O'Malley attended Matteo’s private charity galas every November. No squad car was coming to Lincoln Square tonight.
""Dominic,"" Matteo said. ""Give them precisely three minutes. One small overnight bag each. If they attempt to take anything purchased with Clara Vance’s salary—any jewelry, any designer garments, any silver—shoot them in the knee.""
The operatives moved instantly. One pushed Marcus hard toward the hall closet, while another herded Evelyn and Chloe upstairs at gunpoint. Sobbing hysterically, Chloe scrambled through her bedroom, grabbing a handful of cheap sweaters and tossing them into an open duffel bag. Evelyn tried to slip a velvet jewelry box into her coat, but an operative grabbed her wrist with iron force, twisted it until she dropped the box onto the carpet, and shoved her toward the stairs.
Two minutes later, the three of them stood in the ruined entryway, shivering in their parkas, clutching their meager bags.
""Now,"" Matteo said, walking over to the dining table. He picked up the bottle of cabernet, poured a splash into a clean glass, and took a measured sip. ""Leave.""
""Where are we supposed to go?"" Marcus whimpered, clutching his duffel bag like a shield. ""My Audi won't start in this snow! There are no taxis!""
Matteo set the glass down with a soft click. ""The Brown Line tracks are six blocks west. If you walk quickly, your toes might survive the trek to the station. If you walk slowly, you can experience firsthand the peace of mind you offered my secretary.""
The operatives didn't wait for them to move. With firm shoves, they propelled Marcus, Chloe, and Evelyn out through the shattered frame onto the snow-covered porch. The bitter gale immediately whipped their hair and ripped the breath from their lungs. Chloe shrieked as her thin boots sank into the deep drift, while Evelyn slipped and fell heavily onto her hands and knees in the slush, wailing into the darkness.
Matteo stood at the threshold, watching them scramble and stumble out onto the dark, unplowed street.
""Change the locks,"" Matteo instructed his men. ""Station two guards at the perimeter. Board up the entry until morning, then have my private construction crew install a reinforced titanium core door. This house belongs to Clara Vance. If any of these three creatures comes within five hundred yards of it, execute standard protocol.""
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""Understood, Boss,"" Dominic replied.
Matteo turned on his heel and walked out into the storm, heading straight toward the command vehicle where the woman who held his life together was fighting to wake up.
