Chapter 5 - Crossfire in the Master Suite"Richard?" Ethan kept his voice steady, his eyes locked on the dark circle of the gun barrel. "I didn't take you for a hitman. Or are you just Celeste’s latest toy?"
"I’m much more than a toy, Mr. Vance," Richard replied, stepping further into the room, his movements fluid and calculated. "I’m the cleanup crew. And unfortunately for you, your curiosity has severely shortened your life expectancy. Celeste, grab the flash drive from his hand."
Celeste scrambled up from the floor, a triumphant smirk returning to her lips as she stepped toward Ethan, her hand outstretched to snatch the encrypted drive and the medical files.
Ethan didn't flinch. Instead, he maintained direct eye contact with Richard, calculating the distance, the angle, and the heavy iron fireplace poker resting in the umbrella stand just three feet to his right. He knew he only had one shot. If he moved too slow, the bullet would pierce his heart. If he moved too fast, Richard’s reflexes would beat him to the trigger.
"You think the police won't trace this?" Ethan stalled, his fingers tightening around the edge of the manila folder. "The moment you pull that trigger, the estate’s secondary alarm syncs with Interpol. Every secure file in this house uploads to a public cloud server."
Richard hesitated for a fraction of a second, his eyes flickering toward the ceiling security dome. That tiny hesitation was all Ethan needed.
With an explosive burst of speed, Ethan whipped the heavy manila folder directly into Richard’s face, blinding him momentarily with flying paper, and dove sideways toward the iron fireplace poker.
BANG!
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A muffled crack echoed through the bedroom as a bullet splintered the wooden headboard where Ethan’s chest had been a second prior. Glass shattered across the room as the bullet pierced the balcony window.
Ethan didn't look back. He grabbed the heavy iron poker, swung it in a vicious, sweeping arc, and caught Richard squarely across the wrist. The gun clattered from Richard’s hand, skittering across the polished floorboards and sliding under the heavy mahogany bed.
