Page 118 of Broken By Silence
The music stops, and dead silence is all you hear for a moment until the tell-tale pop of a gunshot and another guard being downed inside gets everyone in motion.
Guests flee from their seats and out the open doors. Someone brushes past me, knocking me slightly, but I don’t care about any of that because Lottie’s eyes find mine. Wide, trembling, butalive,and that’s all that matters.
“You weren’t invited,” Lorenzo growls, fixing his cufflinks with infuriating calm, as if this isn’t the end of his empire.
“I assumed it was an open invitation since you were marryingmy wife,Lorenzo.” I take a step closer. “So I suggest you give her back to me before I kill you where you stand.”
He smirks, eyes dark and hollow. “You don’t have the balls for that.”
“Don’t I?” I take another slow, deliberate step, the safety clicking off. “I killed James—my own father. You think I’ll hesitate to kill you after what you did to her?”
His voice cracks, rage boiling beneath the surface. “She’s never been yours! She’s mine. She’llalwaysbe mine?—”
“No,” I say, my voice like a blade. “She was never yours. You took something she didn’t give. You might’ve owned her body for a time, but you never touched her heart. You neverownedher, Lorenzo. You only broke what you couldn’t control.”
The mask slips. His face twists with fury.
Tracey steps closer to Lottie, pulling her away from Lorenzo. Lottie flinches, instinctively pulling back, and that’s all it takes for all hell to break loose.
Crew and Oscar burst from the side door, guns raised. Roman takes the flank, silent and ruthless, sneaking up on his dad. Archer joins me, his eyes fixated on Lottie. “You okay, baby?” he calls out.
Lottie nods, but I can see it… the small, shaky breath that leaves her lungs as she realizes we truly came for her this time. Then the world explodes. Gunfire tears through the garden. Guests scream and scatter, silk dresses and tuxedos dissolving into panic as Lorenzo’s men fire wildly. Roses burst into clouds of red petals and blood. Tables flip, glass shatters, and the classical music still playing in the background turns the scene into something sick and surreal.
I keep my eyes on Lorenzo the entire time, because he’s the reason for all of this—the screaming, the blood, the way the world felt like it was ending when we were told Lottie was gone. Roman and I move like wolves closing in on our prey, cutting through the chaos, every step bringing us closer to the archway he tried to make her say “I do” beneath.
Roses fall from above, petals and smoke swirling together like a fucked up backdrop until it feels like we’re fightinginside a nightmare. Lorenzo sees us coming, and his smirk falters, hand twitching near his gun.
But then Tracey yanks Lottie’s arm so hard she cries out, pressing a gun against her ribs, and everything in me stops.
“Stay back!” Tracey screeches, her voice shrill, cracking. “You take one more step and I’ll kill her. I’m not going to let you ruin everything I’ve worked for!”
“Let her go!” Archer roars.
My gun swings toward her, sight locked on her head, but I can’t take the shot. Not with Lottie trembling in front of her, the barrel digging into her side. Lottie’s pale, her arm hanging loosely at her side. The wedding dress is torn at the shoulder, her skin streaked with blood splatters, but her eyes, they’re clear.
Claire runs in, downing men with every step. She’s a picture of fury, eyes locked on Tracey. “Get your hands off of my fucking daughter!” She yells, gun raised.
“Tracey,” Lorenzo barks. “Do it.”
Tracey flinches. “No. If she’s dead, then there’s no deal, and I’ve worked far too hard to get this far. She’s useless if she’s dead?—”
“I said,do it!” He turns on her, fury spilling out of every inch of him. “She’s mine, and if I can’t have her, then neither can they!”
And that’s his mistake.
Roman moves before anyone can stop him, tackling Lorenzo to the ground with a roar of fury. Crew rushes to help him. Oscar’s moving silently towards Tracey from her left, signing to Lottie.“It’s okay, baby. We’ve got you now.”
“Lottie,” Claire calls out softly.
Lorenzo snarls, and I turn in time to see him raising his gun toward where Lottie and Tracey stand, and that’s when I fire.
The shot hits Lorenzo square in the shoulder. He stumbles back, crashing into the arch. Tracey panics, her grip on Lottie tightens, the gun digging deeper into her side. “Nobody move!” she shrieks. “I’ll kill her, I swear to god!”
Lottie’s trembling, but she looks to Claire, somethingfierce in her eyes. She shifts, slowly, deliberate, and I know that look. Claire taught her that move—the subtle twist of her wrist, the shift of her weight.
I catch her eye for half a heartbeat, and I feel sick.
“Now, Lottie!” Claire shouts.
