Chapter 5 - Fire and Judgment
Wild with panic and humiliation, Cameron lost whatever sanity he had left.
As Dominic turned to lead Nora toward the grand exit, Cameron sprinted out through the side terrace doors, circling around to the private courtyard where the executive vehicles were parked.
He waited in the shadows behind a stone pillar, a heavy iron crowbar he had snatched from a maintenance cart clutched in his shaking hands.
"You ruined my life!" Cameron screamed, bursting out from behind the pillar as Dominic and Nora stepped into the dimly lit courtyard.
He lunged directly at Nora, raising the crowbar with blind, unhinged fury. "If I can't have you, nobody will!"
Before the iron bar could descend, Dominic moved with terrifying, lightning speed. He stepped in front of Nora, caught the iron bar mid-air with his bare hand, and struck Cameron across the jaw with a devastating right hook.
Cameron crashed onto the wet cobblestones, coughing blood, the crowbar clattering harmlessly away.
Dominic's men immediately swarmed the courtyard, weapons drawn, pinning Cameron to the ground. Dominic straightened his cuffs, his face an unreadable mask of cold fury, but before he could step forward to finish the man, Nora placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"Dominic," she whispered softly. "Let me."
Dominic looked at her, seeing no fear in her eyes—only a quiet, magnificent strength. He stepped back, allowing her space.
Nora walked up to Cameron as he lay bleeding on the stones. She looked down at him, her shadow looming over his trembling frame.
"You told me I was nothing without you, Cameron," Nora said, her voice clear, strong, and unwavering. "You told me no one would ever believe me. Look at you now. You are small, you are weak, and you will never, ever scare me again."
Cameron opened his mouth to spit a curse, but the sound of wailing sirens filled the courtyard as four black federal law enforcement vans tore through the gates.
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Six federal marshals stepped out with drawn weapons, presenting formal arrest warrants for grand larceny, wire fraud, and interstate extortion. They yanked Cameron up from the ground, slapping steel handcuffs tightly around his wrists.
As Cameron was shoved into the back of the federal transport van—facing decades in maximum-security prison—he looked back at Nora one last time, realizing with sickening finality that he had truly lost everything.
