Chapter 9 - Lockdown of the Grand Ballroom
Salvatore Delacroix opened his eyes, and all trace of grief was instantly replaced by cold, tyrannical authority.
He stood up smoothly, keeping one protective arm wrapped around Elena's shoulders while Maria held her trembling hand.
He turned his head toward the mansion’s entrance, where his two most trusted security operators stood vigilantly.
Marco, thirty-eight, and Dominic, forty-one, stood like twin towers in their tailored black suits, earpieces glowing green.
Salvatore didn't shout; his command was delivered with the razor-sharp authority of a general ordering an execution.
"SECURITY! GET HER OUT!" he barked across the silent, snow-lit room.
The lead guard, Marco, immediately tapped his communication device and signaled toward the perimeter team.
"Lock down the main gates and seal every perimeter exit immediately," Marco ordered into his discreet collar microphone.
Marco and Dominic advanced in unison toward the gift table where Victoria was still struggling to stand.
Victoria scrambled backward against the wall, her expensive crimson gown covered in broken ribbons and dust.
"Don't touch me! You have no right to put your hands on me!" she shrieked, kicking wildly with her black heels.
Dominic moved with cold professional precision, easily stepping past her flailing legs and pinning her arms behind her back.
The cold click of steel handcuffs echoed loudly, snapping shut around the delicate wrists of the former high-society darling.
Marco stepped between Victoria and the crowd, his broad shoulders cutting off any view of her humiliated face.
The thirty-five elite guests stood utterly petrified, realizing they were now trapped inside a locked-down mafia fortress.
Nobody checked their phones, nobody moved toward the coats, and nobody dared make a sound.
Salvatore looked at the platinum-blonde monster who had slept in his bed while plotting the murder of his child.
"Take her to the subterranean holding cellar," Salvatore stated coldly, his eyes promising a terrifying reckoning.
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"I will deal with her personally the moment my daughter is examined by the medical team."
Dominic hoisted the weeping, struggling woman to her feet and began hauling her forcefully toward the side security door.
