Chapter 5
The impact of Harrison’s body hitting the rolling bonsai-transport trolley was catastrophic. The heavy metal cart buckled instantly under his weight, the wheels screeching loudly against the wet tile before rocketing violently sideways.
Lightweight plastic nursery pots burst from their meticulously stacked columns, rocketing through the air like shrapnel. Soft moss pads tumbled rapidly across the floor, leaving trails of green debris. Burlap wraps unraveled wildly, tangling around the legs of the nearby guests who scrambled frantically to get out of the way. Sharp plastic plant labels scattered like confetti, clattering beneath the polished leather shoes of the shocked capos.
Harrison collapsed into the wreckage as the trolley's lower frame finally folded entirely beneath him with a loud metallic groan. Foam tree supports collapsed around him, half-burying the unconscious former adviser in a mountain of gardening supplies. His crisp white button-down was smeared with dirt and blood, his vintage pocket watch dangling uselessly from his vest.
There was no dialogue. For several agonizing seconds, the only sound in the massive glass room was the gentle cascading of the indoor waterfall and the spinning of a solitary plastic nursery pot on the wet tile.
The capos and bodyguards stood completely frozen. Striking a senior adviser, even a former one, was a massive violation of the old codes, but no one dared to move. They understood instinctively that the old codes had just been rewritten in blood on the conservatory floor.
Penelope, who had watched her uncle get brutally incapacitated in the blink of an eye, completely lost her nerve. The smug, untouchable arrogance that had radiated from her floral-print chiffon maxi dress vanished instantly, replaced by sheer, unadulterated panic. She realized with terrifying clarity that Roxanne was not going to let this go.
With a sudden, frantic gasp, Penelope turned and suddenly rushed toward the massive glass doors of the conservatory, her strappy high heels clicking desperately against the floor. She realized her only chance was to grab Malik from the bodyguards and use him as leverage to negotiate her way out of the building.
But she didn't even make it three steps.
Roxanne intercepted her with the speed and ferocity of a apex predator. She stepped directly into Penelope's path, blocking the exit entirely. Penelope shrieked and raised her hand, attempting to claw at Roxanne's face or push her out of the way.
"Get out of my way!" Penelope screamed hysterically.
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Roxanne didn't flinch. She simply grabbed Penelope's incoming wrist out of the air, tearing her hand away with such brutal force that Penelope cried out in pain as her shoulder nearly dislocated.
Without breaking eye contact, Roxanne pulled Penelope slightly forward to completely destroy her balance, and then delivered one thunderous, open-handed slap directly across her cousin's face.
