Chapter 5 - COLLAPSE OF THE KINGPIN
A deafening explosion rocked the foundations of the chapel. The choir loft collapsed in a cloud of smoke and fire, and the floodlights instantly died, plunging the sanctuary into pitch blackness. Chaos erupted. Victor’s men began firing blindly into the dark, the muzzle flashes illuminating the swirling dust in frantic, violent bursts.
"Run!" Daniel roared, grabbing Mia by the arm and shoving her toward the side exit. He turned back, firing his weapon with deadly accuracy, dropping two of Victor’s guards before they could reorient themselves.
Mia clutched the lockbox to her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She scrambled over fallen pews, the sound of bullets splintering the wood all around her. She could hear her mother screaming in panic, screaming for Victor to protect her.
As Mia reached the heavy wooden side door, a figure lunged out of the darkness. Victor. His face was covered in soot, his eyes wide with desperate rage. He tackled Mia to the ground, the lockbox skidding across the stone floor.
"You stupid little bitch!" Victor snarled, pinning her down by the throat. "I am a king! You are nothing!"
Mia gasped for air, her vision spotting black. But she wasn't the invisible, terrified waitress anymore. With a surge of adrenaline, she reached into her coat pocket, pulled out the heavy pistol Daniel had given her, and jammed the barrel directly into Victor’s ribcage.
Victor froze.
"Kings die just like everyone else," Mia whispered, and pulled the trigger.
Victor’s eyes widened in shock as the gunshot echoed above the din of the collapsing roof. He slumped off her, clutching his side, gasping for breath. Mia didn't wait to see if he was dead. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the lockbox, and burst through the side door out into the freezing storm.
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Daniel was waiting by the car, bleeding heavily from his shoulder but alive. He threw the passenger door open. "Get in!"
As the tires spun on the wet mud, Mia looked back one last time. The chapel was engulfed in flames, a funeral pyre for a decade of lies. Inside, the sirens of approaching police cars began to wail in the distance. They had triggered an anonymous tip to the feds before arriving. The ledgers in Mia’s lap would give the FBI everything they needed, but the fire would ensure Victor and her mother’s empire burned to the ground tonight.
