Chapter 5 - The Siege at Tidal Spoon
The storm outside raged on, but inside the diner, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, copper, and ozone.
Arthur Vale stepped through the shattered front entrance, holding a nickel-plated revolver, flanked by three heavily armed bodyguards.
"Damian!" Arthur shouted over the sound of the rain. "Give up the harbor deeds, cousin! You've played corporate king long enough! It's time the Vale family returned to real business!"
Damian was crouched behind the pie display counter, reloading his magazine with practiced ease.
"You came to a small town to ambush me, Arthur?" Damian called back, his tone smooth, almost mocking. "You always were a coward."
"I came to finish what your father started!" Arthur sneered, stepping further into the dining room, stepping on broken glass. "And who do we have here? The little schoolteacher you used to cry about? Did you really think hiding her in a fishing village would keep her safe?"
In the kitchen, Elena heard Arthur’s voice and felt her blood run cold.
Arthur had been the one who brought her father's debt collectors to her apartment seven years ago. He was the enforcer who made the threats real.
Damian’s eyes darkened into something truly terrifying.
"If you speak her name again," Damian whispered, his voice dangerously low, "I won't just kill you, Arthur. I'll make sure there's nothing left of you for your mother to bury."
"Try it!" Arthur yelled, aiming his revolver toward the kitchen pass-through window!
Before Arthur could pull the trigger, Elena grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet off the grill stove, stepped out from the kitchen service door, and slammed it with all her strength directly into the side of Arthur’s head!
CLANG!
Arthur grunted in shock, stumbling sideways onto a booth table!
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Damian didn't hesitate. He vaulted over the counter, grabbed Arthur by his collar, and slammed him face-first onto the laminate tabletop, pressing the barrel of his gun firmly against Arthur's temple.
"Game over, Arthur," Damian growled.
