Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Storm
By mid-January, a brutal arctic freeze paralyzed the city of Chicago. Temperatures dropped to fifteen below zero, accompanied by heavy lake-effect snowstorms that buried the streets under two feet of ice and drift.
Despite the weather, the Rossi estate operated smoothly. The driveway was cleared three times a day by our private plows, and the interior of the mansion remained warm, heated by our massive subterranean boiler systems.
Tessa continued her daily routine. With her father’s extortionist debt erased—though she had no idea how or why Jimmy Vance had suddenly vanished from her life—she looked noticeably healthier and more confident. She spent her afternoons maintaining the vast private library on the second floor, organizing leather-bound collections and dusting the antique oak shelving.
On a blizzard-filled Tuesday afternoon around three o'clock, I was working in the library near the grand fireplace.
Tessa was quietly moving down a high rolling ladder on the far side of the room, shelving a set of historical encyclopedia volumes.
Suddenly, a loud, metallic clanking noise echoed up through the floorboards from the basement below, followed by a violent hiss of steam. Within seconds, the warm air circulating through the library vent turned icy cold.
I stood up from my desk as the door to the library burst open. Marcus walked in quickly, his face flushed from the cold.
“Mr. Rossi, we have a major mechanical failure,” Marcus reported. “The main boiler line suffered a catastrophic pressure burst due to the freezing temperatures outside. The backup generator is powering the emergency lights, but the heating system for the entire estate is down.”
I frowned. “How long to repair it?”
“The HVAC technicians say it will take at least six to eight hours to replace the shattered manifold,” Marcus answered. “The indoor temperature is going to drop rapidly within the next hour.”
I looked over at Tessa, who was stepping down from the rolling ladder, her hands wrapped around her dust cloth, shivering as the sudden chill filled the vast room.
“Notify all domestic staff to pack their things and head home early before the roads freeze over completely,” I ordered Marcus. “Send them home in the all-wheel-drive utility vehicles.”
“Understood, sir.” Marcus turned and left the room to execute the order.
Tessa immediately gathered her cleaning supplies and bowed her head toward me. “I’ll finish dusting the upper shelves first thing tomorrow morning, Mr. Rossi.”
“Forget the dusting, Tessa,” I said, walking over toward the grand fireplace. “Get your coat and head down to the transport. The roads in Pilsen are going to be impassable by five o'clock.”
She nodded, turning toward the door. But as she reached the threshold, her phone rang loudly in her pocket.
She pulled it out, answering quickly. “Hello? Mrs. Gable?”
I watched her face as she listened to the speaker on the other end. Her expression shifted from calm to absolute terror in a matter of seconds.
“What?” she gasped, her voice cracking. “The radiator in the basement apartment burst? Is there heat?”
She listened for another five seconds, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as tears instantly filled her eyes.
“Are the boys okay? ... Okay, thank God. Where are they now?”
She listened again, her shoulders sagging in absolute despair.
“The landlord shut the main water off and told everyone to evacuate? Mrs. Gable, I have nowhere else to take them tonight—the shelters are completely full because of the storm!”
I stepped closer to her, my ears catching the panicked voice of her elderly neighbor on the other end of the line. Their Pilsen basement apartment was completely flooded with freezing water, the building’s heating system was dead, and two young boys were sitting wrapped in blankets on the icy front porch with nowhere to go in a negative-fifteen-degree blizzard.
Tessa ended the call, her phone sliding out of her trembling hand and falling onto the carpet. She dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I can't save them,” she sobbed, her voice breaking my heart. “I can't keep them warm. They’re going to freeze...”
I didn't hesitate for a single second.
I reached down, took her by her arms, and pulled her up to her feet.
“Marcus!” I roared toward the hallway.
May you like
Marcus appeared in the doorway three seconds later. “Sir?”
“Get the heavy winter SUV ready,” I commanded, my voice cutting through the panic in the room like a blade. “We’re driving to Pilsen right now. We’re bringing Leo and Toby here.”
