Chapter 5 - The Golden Room Fall
Two days later, the trap snapped shut.
Diane Mercer and Arthur Vance sat in the VIP lounge of the Golden Room casino, surrounded by federal agents and two of Gabriel’s most formidable corporate lawyers.
They thought they were meeting with a high-end real estate buyer to finalize the sale of their commercial lots. Instead, they walked into a room where the walls were lined with printed bank records, wire transfer logs, and the high-definition security footage of Diane selling me for fifty thousand dollars in the alley outside.
When I walked through the double doors wearing a sharp charcoal blazer and tailored trousers—financed by a clothing budget Gabriel had quietly set aside—Diane looked like she had seen a ghost.
“Nora?” Diane gasped, half-rising from her velvet armchair. “What is... how are you here? You’re supposed to be—!”
“In a mob dungeon?” I finished for her, walking over and standing across the mahogany table. “Sorry to disappoint, Diane. It turns out Mr. Costa has much better interior design taste than you do.”
Arthur Vance, a graying man in an expensive suit who was sweating through his collar, slammed his palms onto the table. “This is a setup! You can't hold us here! This is private property!”
“Actually, Mr. Vance, it’s my property,” Gabriel said, stepping into the room behind me. He looked immaculate in a dark three-piece suit, his presence instantly dropping the temperature in the room by ten degrees. He tossed a thick manila folder onto the table between them. “And those are federal indictments for wire fraud, identity theft, embezzlement of a minor’s trust, and interstate commerce violations.”
Diane’s face drained of all color. She looked from Gabriel to the federal agents standing by the exit, then back to me, her eyes wide with sudden, pathetic terror.
“Nora... honey... please,” Diane whimpered, her voice cracking as she reached across the table, her acrylic nails clawing at empty air. “We’re family. I raised you after your mother died. I took care of you—!”
“You sold me for fifty grand, Diane,” I said, my voice as cold as ice. “And you stole my father’s life insurance to pay off your blackjack debts. The only reason we’re family is because I share a last name you dragged through the mud.”
Arthur Vance slumped back into his chair, realizing the game was over. The federal agents stepped forward, cuffs clicking as they fastened them around his wrists, then around Diane’s trembling hands.
As they dragged Diane toward the exit, she turned her head, screaming curses and weeping hysterically.
“You’ll pay for this, Nora! You ungrateful little bitch! You’ll never be anything without us!”
The double doors closed, cutting off her voice.
The room went dead silent.
I stood there for a long moment, feeling the heavy, suffocating weight that had pressed down on my chest for years finally lift away, dissolving into nothing.
Gabriel stepped up beside me, his shoulder brushing mine.
May you like
“Feel better?” he asked softly.
“I feel like I can finally breathe,” I whispered.
