Chapter 9 - The Last Debt of the Vanel FamilyThe call came at 2:13 a.m.
Dante answered on the first ring.
“Elena?”
Cardinal Bishop’s voice was calm.
Dante sat upright.
Elena woke beside him.
Dante placed the phone on speaker.
“Where is Toby?”
“Safe.”
Bishop chuckled.
“For now.”
Dante’s face became stone.
“If you touched him—”
“Threats.”
Bishop sounded disappointed.
“Your father used threats more elegantly.”
“I’m not my father.”
“No.”
A pause.
“That is precisely the problem.”
Elena grabbed Dante’s hand.
“What do you want?”
Bishop heard her.
“Mrs. Vanel.”
His voice warmed falsely.
“Your television performance was moving.”
“Go to hell.”
“Eventually.”
He laughed softly.
“But first, I want the original files.”
“The FBI has copies.”
“Copies can be disputed.”
Bishop replied.
“The originals carry provenance.”
Dante understood.
“You want to destroy them.”
“I want to restore order.”
“The old order is dead.”
“Then perhaps your brother-in-law dies with it.”
Elena’s face drained.
Dante squeezed her hand.
“Proof of life.”
Bishop sighed.
A few seconds later, Toby’s voice came through.
“Elena?”
She nearly collapsed.
“Toby.”
“I’m okay.”
His voice shook.
“They took Marcus.”
“What happened?”
A sound interrupted.
Bishop returned.
“Enough.”
Dante stood.
“Where?”
“Pier 19.”
“4 a.m.”
“Bring the originals.”
“No FBI.”
The line ended.
Elena was already dressing.
Dante caught her arm.
“No.”
She turned.
“Do not start.”
“This is different.”
“He has Toby.”
“Exactly.”
“And you think I’m staying here?”
“Yes.”
Elena slapped him.
Not hard.
But enough.
Dante stared.
“That was for being stupid.”
“Elena—”
She grabbed his face.
“And this is because I love you.”
She kissed him.
Then pulled back.
“We go together.”
At 3:58 a.m., Pier 19 was nearly deserted.
Rain moved across the Hudson.
Dante carried the metal case.
Elena walked beside him.
No visible security.
No FBI.
At least that was what Bishop believed.
Agent Sloan had placed trackers inside Dante’s coat and Elena’s shoe.
Marcus had managed to trigger an emergency beacon before being captured.
The signal came from Warehouse 6.
Dante pushed open the door.
Lights snapped on.
Toby sat tied to a chair.
Marcus was beside him.
Blood ran from Marcus’s forehead.
Bishop stood between them.
Six armed men surrounded the warehouse.
“Beautiful.”
Bishop smiled.
“The prince and his bride.”
Dante held up the case.
“Release them.”
“First the documents.”
“No.”
Bishop sighed.
“Your father would never have brought a woman to a negotiation.”
“My wife isn’t luggage.”
Elena almost smiled despite the terror.
Bishop looked at her.
“You changed him.”
“No.”
Elena replied.
“He changed himself.”
“That is romantic.”
Bishop drew a pistol.
“And catastrophically inconvenient.”
Dante stepped forward.
“You covered Lucas’s sabotage.”
“Yes.”
“You let me carry responsibility.”
“You had responsibility.”
Bishop shrugged.
“You overloaded the crane.”
“You knew Lucas damaged it.”
“Yes.”
“Why protect him?”
“Because Lucas knew things.”
Bishop’s smile disappeared.
“Your father needed him.”
Elena stared.
“And my father?”
“Michael Vance was a problem.”
Bishop looked at her.
“A decent man in an indecent system.”
His voice became almost philosophical.
“Those people rarely survive.”
“You were going to kill him.”
“Vittorio was.”
“And you agreed?”
“I served the family.”
Dante’s eyes hardened.
“No.”
He placed the case on the floor.
“You served power.”
Bishop smiled.
“What is the difference?”
“This.”
Dante kicked the case toward him.
Bishop’s men retrieved it.
He opened it.
Documents filled the interior.
“Good.”
Bishop nodded.
“Now kill them.”
The lights died.
Gunfire erupted.
Elena dropped.
Dante covered her.
Federal agents stormed through side entrances.
“FBI!”
Shots cracked across the warehouse.
Dante crawled toward Toby.
A bullet struck concrete beside him.
Elena saw Bishop moving.
Not toward an exit.
Toward Toby.
“Dante!”
Bishop grabbed the boy.
He pressed the pistol against Toby’s head.
“STOP!”
Everything froze.
Bishop dragged Toby toward the loading doors.
“Back away!”
Dante stood slowly.
His weapon was on the floor.
“Take me.”
Bishop laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
Dante spread his arms.
“You want Vanel blood?”
He stepped forward.
“Take mine.”
Toby was crying now.
“No.”
“Dante, no.”
Elena whispered.
Bishop considered.
Then smiled.
“Appropriate.”
He shoved Toby toward Elena.
“Come.”
Dante walked forward.
Bishop grabbed him.
The pistol pressed against Dante’s ribs.
“Move.”
They backed toward the pier.
Elena caught Toby.
Agents surrounded them.
Nobody fired.
Bishop and Dante reached the edge.
A speedboat waited below.
Bishop whispered something.
Dante smiled.
Then suddenly drove his elbow backward.
Bishop fired.
Elena screamed.
Dante twisted.
The bullet struck his side.
He grabbed Bishop.
Both men crashed against the railing.
Bishop lost the gun.
Dante punched him.
Bishop stumbled.
For one terrible second, the scene mirrored the rooftop.
A man at an edge.
Dante standing above him.
Bishop slipped.
His body went over the railing.
His hand caught the steel.
He hung above the freezing Hudson.
“Help me!”
Dante stared down.
Elena remembered Lucas.
She saw the same decision.
The same opportunity.
Bishop looked terrified.
“Dante!”
Dante slowly extended his hand.
Bishop grabbed it.
Dante pulled.
Agents rushed forward.
Together they hauled Bishop over the railing.
He collapsed onto the pier.
Sloan immediately handcuffed him.
Bishop stared at Dante.
“Why?”
Dante pressed a hand against his bleeding side.
“Because I’m not my father.”
His knees buckled.
Elena ran.
She caught him.
Again.
Just as she had on the rooftop months earlier.
“You have got to stop getting shot.”
Dante laughed weakly.
“I’m developing a bad habit.”
“You idiot.”
She pressed her hands against the wound.
“I love you too.”
Toby dropped beside them.
“Dante?”
“I’m okay.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“Your sister is dramatic.”
Elena glared.
“You were shot.”
“Technically grazed.”
Sloan knelt.
“That is not a graze.”
Dante looked offended.
“Whose side are you on?”
For the first time that night, Elena laughed.
It came through tears.
Sirens filled the pier.
Bishop was placed inside a federal vehicle.
His empire of secrets had ended.
Dante looked at Elena.
“It’s over.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
He frowned.
Elena touched his face.
“The hiding is over.”
May you like
She kissed him.
“Now we build.”
