Chapter 8 - The Final Reckoning
Damon stepped out of the Mercedes before the car had even fully stopped.
He didn't run. His movements were calculated, predatorily calm, and terrifyingly swift. Two of his security guards were already beside Caleb, pinning the frantic man’s arms behind his back before he could take two steps toward the front porch.
"Let me go!" Caleb thrashed wildly, his expensive suit wrinkled and stained with sweat. "Damon! You can't do this! This is a free country!"
Damon walked past him, ignoring Caleb entirely as he mounted the stone steps and opened the front door, stepping into the foyer where Elena stood, her hands protectively resting on her swollen stomach.
"Are you all right?" Damon asked, his eyes sweeping over her to ensure she hadn't been harmed.
"I'm fine," Elena nodded, though her heart was pounding. "He threatened my mother's memory."
Damon turned slowly, walking back out onto the porch like a storm descending from the mountains. He descended the steps until he stood mere inches from Caleb Caldwell, who was shivering under the cold, dead weight of Damon's gaze.
"You stood on my property," Damon said softly, his voice carrying easily across the courtyard, "and you threatened a woman under my protection."
"I... I was desperate," Caleb whimpered, his bravado entirely evaporated. "Just let me go. I'll leave the country tonight. You'll never see me again."
"You should have left Boston months ago when I gave you the chance," Damon replied coldly. He signaled with a slight nod of his head.
A sleek black van pulled up behind Caleb’s car, and two men in dark suits stepped out, opening the rear doors. They didn't use violence; they used the terrifying efficiency of men who operated outside the ordinary bounds of the law.
"Put him on the midnight cargo freighter heading for the North Sea," Damon instructed his men without raising his voice. "Let him experience what it means to start from the bottom with absolutely nothing, exactly like the people he used to step on."
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"No! Please! Damon—!" Caleb’s screams were cut short as he was bundled into the back of the van, which sped down the drive and vanished into the evening twilight.
Damon stood in the silence of the courtyard for a long moment before turning back toward the house. He walked up the steps, closing the front door firmly behind them, shutting out the outside world completely.
