Chapter 8 - THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN
Marcus had been with Vincent for sixteen years.
He had attended funerals, survived attacks, negotiated with enemies and protected the Marino family through its darkest periods.
Vincent had trusted him with his life.
Now Marcus stood beside the hospital door with a gun in his hand.
Jenna pulled Lily behind her.
“Put it down,” Vincent ordered.
Marcus shook his head.
“I can't.”
“You've spent sixteen years beside me.”
“Because I was paid to.”
Vincent stared at him.
“By my father?”
“Originally.”
“And Dominic?”
Marcus smiled bitterly.
“Dominic was the one who understood that the old man was finished.”
Vincent slowly pushed himself upright.
“You shot me ten years ago.”
Marcus nodded.
“I was ordered to eliminate your mother. You stepped in front of her.”
“And you let me live.”
“I thought you were dead.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“Why didn't you finish the job?”
“Because Dominic told me to leave you. He wanted the family to believe you were a victim. A tragic hero who could no longer control the business.”
Marcus looked toward Jenna.
“Then this woman appeared and ruined everything.”
Jenna kept Lily behind her.
“Why did you threaten my daughter?”
Marcus laughed.
“Because your employer became sentimental.”
Vincent's voice dropped.
“Don't speak about them.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You think you're a king because men lower their eyes when you enter a room. But you're nothing without the people who keep your throne standing.”
He raised the weapon.
Before he could fire, the hospital lights suddenly went dark.
A loud impact sounded near the door.
Someone shouted.
Then the emergency lights activated.
Marcus was on the floor.
His gun had skidded beneath the bed.
Vincent's hospital security officer stood behind him.
But the man who had struck Marcus was not hospital security.
It was Elena Marino.
Vincent's mother.
She had arrived with two detectives.
She looked at Marcus with a fury that seemed to contain twelve years of grief.
“You should have finished what you started,” she said.
Marcus was handcuffed.
The detectives took him away.
Vincent stared at his mother.
“You followed us?”
Elena shook her head.
“I received a message from Jenna.”
Jenna looked surprised.
She had contacted Elena's nursing facility earlier that morning, asking the director to ensure she had protection.
Elena had insisted on coming to the hospital.
“I wasn't going to let another man decide whether my son lived or died.”
Vincent reached for her hand.
“I'm sorry, Mom.”
Elena began crying.
“So am I.”
For a few minutes, the family simply held each other.
Then Vincent turned toward Jenna.
“Thank you.”
She shook her head.
“Your mother saved you.”
“She wouldn't have known what was happening without you.”
Lily approached the bed.
“Mr. Vincent?”
He looked down.
“Yes?”
“Are you going to die?”
Vincent's expression softened.
“No, sweetheart.”
“Promise?”
He glanced at Jenna.
Then back at Lily.
“I'll do everything I can to keep that promise.”
The following morning, Marcus agreed to cooperate with investigators.
His testimony confirmed that Dominic had planned the original attack.
He also identified several individuals involved in hiding Elena and manipulating Vincent's medical treatment.
But one important question remained.
Where was Dominic?
The answer arrived through a phone call.
Dominic had purchased a private property outside Chicago under an assumed identity.
The property was an abandoned industrial complex near the river.
Police had already surrounded it.
Vincent wanted to go.
His doctors refused.
Jenna supported them.
“You need to recover.”
“Dominic is still out there.”
“And you'll be no use to anyone if you collapse before reaching him.”
Vincent looked frustrated.
Then he noticed something on the television.
A breaking news report showed Dominic entering the Grand Aldridge Hotel.
He was surrounded by lawyers.
He had requested an emergency meeting with the board.
The reporter announced that Dominic intended to present evidence proving Vincent was medically unfit.
Vincent immediately reached for his phone.
“He's moving faster than we expected.”
Marcus's replacement, a security director named Thomas Hale, called.
“Sir, Dominic has obtained an emergency injunction.”
“What kind?”
“Temporary control over several family business accounts.”
Vincent stared at the screen.
“How?”
“Your father's old power-of-attorney documents.”
Vincent went still.
“My father signed those before he died.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And who witnessed them?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Dominic Marino.”
Vincent understood.
His brother had been preparing for this moment for years.
He had the money.
He had the documents.
He had the board.
And he had a story designed to make Vincent look unstable.
Then Thomas delivered the final piece of news.
“Sir, Dominic is claiming that Jenna Cole manipulated your medical records and staged the attack to gain access to your estate.”
Vincent's expression turned cold.
“He named her?”
“Yes.”
“And what else?”
Thomas paused.
“He says she's pregnant with your child.”
Jenna, standing nearby, nearly dropped her phone.
“What?”
Vincent stared at the screen.
Dominic had just turned a private betrayal into a public scandal.
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And the next morning, every major news outlet in Chicago would be repeating it.
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